Living a Lie
by Tai94
Summary: Bellatrix found out that Harry was a horcrux so she took him that Halloween. He is raised not knowing his true identity. Later on Harry goes to Hogwarts as Keiran Black and befriends the twin he doesn't know he has. Violet, the girl-who-lived. Dark Harry!
1. The Letter

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer: ****I am not making money out of this, and this isn't mine, except for the plot and the OC's of course.**

**A/N: Vote for who you want Keiran to end up with! The poll is on my profile! If there's somebody missing in the list that I put up then please inform me and I'll add the name! **

**Living a Lie**

"Come on! You know you can do better than that!" Bellatrix taunted as she dodged a flying kick from her son. She grabbed the leg he had aimed at her and twisted it, causing him to twist in midair. Instead of falling on the floor as the move was intended to do to him, the agile young boy did an extra flip in midair and landed on the balls of his feet.

Smiling approvingly at what her son had accomplished, Bellatrix charged once again, aiming her powerful kick at the boy's feet. Before her feet made contact with his shins, the boy leapt up and he swung his right foot at his mother's side. She stumbled on the ground and her son landed on top of her with a triumphant grin on his face.

"K.O." he breathed, while wiping the sweat off his brow using the back of his hand.

"That was pathetic, Keiran! Three minutes! I've done it in one!" a mocking voice interrupted his moment of victory. His sister, Kiara, who had been watching the entire sparring session, was smirking at him from one of the armchairs near the fireplace, a stopwatch in her hands. "

Keiran hopped up from his mother, scowling. Keelan, who had buried his nose in a book while sitting behind his sisters' chair, looked up and tossed aside his book with an anticipatory gleam in his Prussian blue eyes, which were exactly the same as Keiran's. He had always enjoyed his siblings' quarrels, though he never joined them himself. He considered himself above such things.

"You only managed to do that because mother had already sparred with Keelan and I. She was tired." Keiran retorted.

"Mother takes a rejuvenating potion after each duel." Kiara countered, smirking "Just admit that I'm better than you." She added in an airy voice.

Bellatrix went to sit beside Keelan, copying his amused grin. Their actions proved that this was a common occurrence in the Black household. Keiran flicked his wrist and his wand fell from his holster and into his waiting hand. He pointed his wand at his sister threateningly and hissed, "I challenge you to a duel, with wands."

Kiara looked horrified for a minute but she quickly wiped the expression off her face. She pocketed her watch and stood up fluidly from her chair. "No," she snarled. "Hand to hand combat."

"We both know that magic is what most wizards would use to fight instead of martial arts. Would you lower yourself to muggle standards?" Keiran said in mock indignation, raising one elegant eyebrow. "Or are you just too afraid of me and my little stick?" he began twirling his wand in his long fingers, while giving his younger sister a look of pure superiority.

"Without your wand, you are nothing."Kiara laughed.

"I'll make sure not to lose it then."

At this point, both were sending death glares at each other and Bellatrix decided to intervene. She stepped between the two, pushing Keiran's wand down as she did so and gave Kiara a warning glare.

"Why don't you two try a hand on sword fighting instead?" She suggested. "Neither of you have beaten me in that area of combat yet. It should help the both of you blow off some steam" She suggested.

Keiran and Kiara glared at each other for a little while more before they nodded simultaneously. Keiran tucked his wand back in his holster while Kiara slinked over to the glimmering swords lining the wall.

"Steel or wood?" she asked sweetly, a cruel grin on her face.

"Don't you even think about it Kiara," Bellatrix warned threateningly. Although she did love the pleasure of blood and causing pain, she would not take lightly to any of her children getting hurt. Woes betide on the person who even causes a scratch to appear on one of her children for her wrath doubles when it concerns her child.

"Fine then, wood." Kiara sighed, looking as if Christmas had been cancelled. She grabbed two of the wooden swords from the wall and tossed one to Keiran with the pointy edge soaring over to him in the hopes that he would be impaled by it because even though the swords were wooden, that's not to say that they weren't sharp. She was vastly disappointed though, as Keiran caught it deftly with his right hand even as he gazed out the window. He had spotted a dark speck in the distance, getting larger by the minute.

However, this was not the time to focus on that. Kiara held the hilt of her sword in both hands and took up a battle stance. "Do your worst, older brother." She taunted.

He smirked coaxingly at her and took on a battle stance as well, Keelan was cheering for his older brother while Bellatrix went to sit on the chair Kiara had vacated so that she could watch the fight clearly.

Without a warning, Kiara suddenly charged, swinging her sword at her brother's rib cage but Keiran managed to block her attack. Their swords collided with a loud thud as wood slid against wood. He smirked as Kiara tumbled backward but she easily got her footing back again and she was not pleased. She charged again and this time Keiran barely managed to dodge, he countered with a trust straight at her stomach but she parried and hopped to the right and before Keiran had even pulled his sword back toward him, Kiara swung her sword with all her might toward Keiran's feet, intending to send him to the ground.

However, he managed to jump just in time to avoid the sword trust and at that moment an owl flew inside a room clutching a letter in her talons and she dropped it right in front of Keiran, who reacted to instinct and caught it with his free hand. Nevertheless, it was distraction enough for when he had landed back on the ground; Kiara hit him on his stomach so hard he hit the ground.

"Ha, I win!" Kiara gloated, throwing her sword aside.

Keiran glared at her, "That's unfair! I was distracted!" he whined, thrusting the letter into her face. "The owl dropped this and I caught it!"

Kiara shook her head as if she was talking to a four-year old. "If you continue catching random stuff while we're in battle, you won't live a very long life."

Keiran frowned; he chucked his sword aside and turned his attention on the letter that had caused his first loss against his sister. He was in a decidedly foul mood, but then, when he saw the crest on the letter his face immediately brightened. Sealing the letter was a crest with a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle, with a large H in the middle.

"It's my Hogwarts letter!" he exclaimed happily. Kiara dropped her haughty exterior and became the excited girl she always was outside the training room and hurried over to her side to gaze at the Hogwarts crest as well.

"Open it! Open it!" Keelan urged anticipation in his big blue eyes, showing emotion that he usually kept to himself. He walked towards them but unfortunately, he was not tall enough to be able to see the Hogwarts crest too as the top of his heed barely reached his sisters elbow.

Keiran eagerly obliged and broke the crest; he pulled out the parchments inside and unfolded them. He grinned down at the writing before his brows came together and he frowned. Kiara frowned as well.

"This isn't mine." Keiran announced dejectedly.

"It isn't?" Bellatrix asked, moving behind them with a worried expression. When she read the first line, her eyes widened momentarily in alarm but she wiped it off her face before any of her children could see it. Keelan grabbed the letter from his brother's hand and read.

"Dear Mr. Potter…" Keelan read, "Who's that?"

Keiran was wondering as well. He flipped the envelope over and gazed at what was written at the back.

Mr. H. Potter

Right wing, sixth floor

Slytherin Fortress

Ireland

Kiara's eyes widened suspiciously, as Keiran stared dumbly at the envelope. This letter would not come here if there were not really a Mr. H. Potter somewhere here in the castle. The only Potter male she knew was James Potter and that top auror's name definitely did not start with a letter H.

"Who is this 'Mr. H. Potter?" Keiran asked his mother, Keelan gave the letter back to him and he folded it and put it back in the envelope.

Bellatrix gave him a strained smile and said, "From what I know there is only one Mr. H. Potter, and that person is dead. He's Violet's twin brother." At this, everyone in the room narrowed their eyes in hatred.

"Why would I be receiving messages meant for him?" Keiran asked curiously.

"Maybe it's their way of taunting us." Bellatrix replied, not looking any of them in the eyes though none of them noticed this. "Everybody knows it was your father who killed the little boy."

"How very childish of them." Kiara muttered disapprovingly, and then she suddenly smiled evilly. "If they plan to do these things to us then it would only be fair if we did the same, would it not?" she said, taking out her wand and transfiguring one of the wooden swords into an envelope. Without a moment's hesitation she stuffed the Hogwarts letter inside the envelope she conjured and with another wave of her wand, it was gone.

"What did you do to it?" Keelan asked curiously.

"I sent it to Mr. James Potter. It would be nice for him to know that somebody is using his dead son's name." Kiara said sweetly, "He wouldn't like it."

Bellatrix was smiling approvingly at Kiara until she noticed Keiran's stony expression. "What's the problem, Keiran?" she asked in concern. Alarm bells rang in her head, could he have found out? No, that was impossible. It cannot be.

"Why is it that they want to torment us for killing that Potter boy?" Keiran demanded through clenched teeth. "If anything else, it's us who should be tormenting them for what the brat's sister did to Father." He clenched his fist in anger, the weapons on the wall began to vibrate, and some even clattered unto the ground.

Bellatrix released a mental sigh. Keiran had not found out yet. It was absurd to think that he would realize that after seeing a letter. She kneeled in front of her oldest child and held his shoulders reassuringly. She had to calm his feelings; his fury was a frightening thing when it was not controlled.

"We'll get there someday, Keiran. One day that girl will pay for what she did. I'm sure your Father will give you the pleasure of torturing her yourself." She smiled coaxingly.

Keiran nodded grudgingly, still glaring at the spot where the letter had been. The other children did not know what to do and Bellatrix frowned down at them. When she realized that there was nothing more that she could do for Keiran aside from making him anticipate the Girl-Who-Lived's torture, she stood up.

"Why don't you lot continue your dueling, this time cast imperturbable charms on the windows so there wouldn't be any distractions. Keelan, watch their moves, you'll be fighting against Kiara when I return." Bellatrix ordered, the trio gave a murmur of assent. "I'll just go check on your Father."

With that said Bellatrix slipped out of room and released the breath she had been holding in. She knew that Keiran would be receiving his Hogwarts letter this year, but she definitely had not known that _that_ would be written on it.

'I need to fix this!' Bellatrix thought frantically as she rushed toward the nearest fireplace in the area. She threw floo powder in and when the flames turned emerald green, she said, "Malfoy Manor."

And she stuck her head in and looked around. It was very fortunate that Lucius Malfoy was already in the room she had fire-called, he was reading a book while facing the window.

"Lucius!" Bellatrix shrieked nervously.

Lucius turned his head and at the look of alarm on his face, it was obvious that he was not expecting any calls from his boss' wife in a long while. He threw his book aside and immediately scrambled to sit by the fireplace.

"What is it Lady Bellatrix?" he asked quickly.

"You are a school governor at Hogwarts are you not?" Bellatrix asked.

Lucius nodded vigorously.

"Good. Well, I have a job for you."

**Living a Lie**

Albus Dumbledore was quickly emptying his newly refilled bowl of lemon drops as he listened to a heated tirade from one irate Severus Snape once again about the staff positions. Snape had never really trusted Quirrel, but it was so hard to recruit someone who was brave enough to take on the Defense Against the Dark Arts Post and since they already had one he didn't really see the point of firing this one and hiring someone else.

"He is nothing more than an incompetent fool!" Snape snarled, "I shall not have a bumbling airhead teaching any one of the students I have been tutoring since they were three. They deserve more than him!"

"Ah," Dumbledore said, leaning on his table and steeping his fingers. "Who are these students of yours, Severus?"

"My Godson and his friends…but that doesn't matter at the moment! I want that abomination removed from his post to be replaced by someone more capable of teaching children how to keep their lives!"

"You seem to be very concerned for the students, Severus. That's very admirable." Dumbledore mused, all too calmly.

"Haven't you been listening to me at all?" Severus cried, his eyes bulging in anger.

"Yes, I'm listening to you. Have you seen Fawkes by any chance, he's been missing for some time now."

"Dumbledore!"

"Yes?"

"I have no time for this."

Snape stormed out of the office, with his cloak billowing impressively behind him as it always did. Dumbledore looked incredulously after him. His fingers busy with un-sticking two lemon drops.

"I wonder what may be bothering the lad." Dumbledore mumbled. Then he took another lemon drop and popped it in his mouth.

**Living a Lie**

Snape barged out of the Headmasters office, fuming. He old man just never listened to a word he said. He though that age would make someone wise, it was quite the opposite with the senile old man. He had requested meeting with him so that he could hopefully remove the mediocrity Hogwarts was putting up with, but maybe getting Dumbledore to pay attention was just wishful thinking.

He could just imagine what his student's reactions to the school would be. Draco would insist to hire him as a permanent private tutor and wouldn't want to enter the school. Keiran would see it all as a joke, Snape could see him now with his innocent expression, quizzing the incompetent Professors about the things he had learned of and not getting any answers. Theodore would just be plain disgusted and wouldn't be paying attention in class. And Daphne? She would go along with anything Draco was doing.

And there he had been telling them for the past eight years that Hogwarts was the best school in Europe. He sneered in disgust as he took another look at the place. Keiran wouldn't appreciate the musty interior at all, and Draco would be right behind him. Both of them had been brought up to know nothing but the best. What would they say to this? To Quirrel's classes? To Flitwick's over enthusiasm? To McGonagall's too easy spellwork? To Binn's endless drone? He would never hear the end of their complaints. Why had he ever said that this was the best school in the first place?

He stalked past McGonagall's office in a dark mood, than he did a back take. Minerva seemed to be the only person who was able to talk to Dumbledore and be taken seriously. If she was not able to rid Hogwarts of Binns and Quirrel, nobody could.

Without another thought, he entered the office in a fierce stride, drawing himself up to look as fearful as he could make himself be. Bu then, McGonagall did not even seem to notice him. She was too busy gaping at a scroll of parchment on her desk, and to see the stern deputy headmistress gaping was a rare thing. Snape would have gaped too if he hadn't honed his face to not make any facial expressions. In his line of spying, to do so was to die.

"What are you gaping at Minerva?" Snape asked, curious yet still staying indifferent.

"S-Snape, look." She said, pushing the parchment over to him and pointing at a specific spot. Snape leaned over the paper, and to his astonishment, he saw a name of a boy he hadn't thought of for a long time.

"This means, he's alive Snape. We must inform James. Harry's alive!" McGonagall said quickly, while Snape just stared dumbfounded at the parchment. It wasn't possible for the Potter boy to live. He had disappeared that fateful night of Halloween, while his twin sister was found wailing in the crib without a scratch on her and a pile of robes at the foot of her crib. No sign of the Potter boy had been found, and Lily was too much of a gibbering wreck to tell them anything else but: "Harry...my poor baby boy…..taken…..gone." and they all assumed the worst.

Then before Snape's very eyes, the name Potter, Harry glowed faintly, and disappeared. McGonagall noticed the white light, she pulled the parchment back to her, and she gasped when she noticed that the name they had been staring at had just vanished.

"No." she exclaimed, totally losing her composure," No! If a name disappears on the student register then that means….no." she leaned back into her chair in shock, both of her hands pressed against her ears.

"If Potter wasn't dead before, he certainly is dead now." Snape said unemotionally.

"If we'd only known," McGonagall wailed, quite unlike herself. "If only, then Lily would be cured by now. That poor boy, he could have suffered years of torture if he was alive all this time. James, hasn't gotten over his supposed death and even more now when he realizes that his son had been alive and yet we hadn't known…" she continued rambling.

"Then we mustn't tell them."

McGonagall looked up quickly, mouth hanging open. "We can't possibly do that!" she protested, her face going red. "James would never forgive us if he found out!"

Snape smirked down at her, "Look at it this way, Potter's son is dead now. There is nothing we can do to change that. Potter will never have to find out. It will just torture him to find out that his son was alive all this time and we could have saved him. If the boy was still alive then we would tell Potter, but since he's dead. It doesn't change anything."

"I feel like a terrible person."

Snape snorted in his head and just refrained himself from saying that she was. He had to be on her good side in this. Nobody was going to know, and he was going to find out just which one of his friends had held Potter's son hostage all these years.

"We're just sparing him from the pain."

McGonagall's lip tightened into a thin line and she nodded gruffly. Snape smirked slightly, glad that he had succeeded; it had been getting easier and easier to manipulate these people. Save Dumbledore of course. But since the Dark Lord had died, people had become lax and now they stopped thinking that anybody would try to trick them. He had something to report to Bellatrix now.

"Good." Snape said, he had completely forgotten about the reason he had gone there in the first place. He could get rid of Quirrel any other time. However, this could not wait. Bellatrix had to know. He swept out of the office, leaving a tight-lipped sweating Transfiguration Professor behind.

Neither of them had noticed that during their little chat, the parchment had glowed once more and a new name appeared on it in the place where Harry Potter's was. Written in formal writing was the name: Black, Keiran. And in the list under that where the names of the students entering the school next year was written, there was another glow and another and the name Weasley, Ginny was replaced with onw of: Black, Kiara.

**Living a Lie**

A/N: okay, I know the first chapter is rubbish. I'm terrible with introductions. But if you please stick with it, I promise that there's a roller coaster ride of emotions and action waiting for all of you!


	2. Hogwarts

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark!Harry.

**A/N: ****Some of these scenes were taken directly from the book but things will become less and less canon as the story goes. Thank you for the reviewers!**

**Disclaimer-This is not mine, aside from the plot of course. Anything you recognize belongs to the great Rowling.**

**Living a Lie**

August 30, 1991

Far amid the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland lies a great castle. It far outshone Hogwarts in size and beauty, but, it was gaunt. From the distance, you could already sense the lurking evil within the fortress. It did not need the muggle-repelling charms that had been so dutifully applied and reapplied annually; its mere daunting presence was enough to turn any common hiker away from its path.

In a luxuriously furnished dining room within the castle's confines, two figures were talking. The fireplace behind them darkened their faces and their shadows lengthened and mirrored their actions on the long ornate table before them.

"Do think it is wise to send the boy there?" the woman asked the skeletal figure across her.

"Honestly? No. But I believe that it is for the best." The man answered in a whisper.

"How so?" the woman asked, a hint of challenge in her voice.

"He will be able to help me on my mission. Had the stone not been moved there, he would not have needed to attend." The man explained.

"But, don't you think that there is even a small chance that he finds out the truth?" the woman asked apprehensively

"Marginal," Came the sure reply. The woman seemed to stutter at the edge of speech first at the unexpected reply before a determined expression took on her face.

"I have received word that the Potter brat is coming as well." She argued. "What if they meet? What if…"

The man cut her off. "All for the better, it will be sure to strengthen his great dislike for her. Don't worry my dear, he will never return to them."

"Are you sure?" the woman whispered fearfully.

"I'm sure." He concluded. "He will always be our son."

The woman nodded, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted…"she apologized. Then she ran toward the man and hugged him around the waist. "I'm just so afraid of losing him again." And she began sobbing on the man's shoulder. He patted her head gently.

"Don't worry, he can take care of himself, and besides, I'll be there with him all along."

At that moment, a man carrying a purple turban entered the room.

"I am ready."

**September 1, 1991**

Keiran quickly found himself an empty compartment once he boarded the Hogwarts Express. He hadn't seen Draco anywhere yet, usually that wouldn't bother him but since their cover story was that he had just moved to Malfoy Manor, it would be odd for him to arrive ahead of the Malfoy's, but it couldn't be helped. Time was running short.

He wandlessly levitated his trunk into the luggage rack above and he sat down while gazing out the window. His mother was waving to him from the platform along with his siblings. Kiara was torn between jealousy and sadness, both from Keiran going to Hogwarts, while Keelan was giving him one of his rare smiles. For a six-year old, Keelan had the maturity of one a decade older. Mentally he did not understand some things, that is true, but he perfectly understood that any word and emotion he said and showed could be used against him in the future. They all learned that the hard way

Keiran showed emotions more freely than Keelan or Kiara did. However, that did not mean that what he showed on his face was what he felt on the inside. Keiran beamed brightly and waved enthusiastically back at his Mother, who was getting teary-eyed.

Really, she had to stop getting mushy whenever he did something new; she had the ruthless devil mistress image to uphold! Oh well, he loved the attention anyway. A flash of fiery red behind his family caught his eye and he focused on the redheaded family he knew from description to be the Weasleys. They all had the fiery red hair of their parents and they were all boys. He knew four of them would be attending Hogwarts this year. This knowledge came from all of the times Draco complained about the youngest of the brood, Rupert was it? Maybe Reginald…Rufus? He was not sure.

Suddenly the door slid behind him and he turned quickly, wand out of his holster. But it was only Draco standing there with an amused expression on his face. He had two bulky boys Keiran didn't know flanking him.

"You should loosen up Keiran. It's only me." Draco sneered.

"Shut up and sit down." Keiran snapped irritably, putting his wand back in its holster and sitting back down. "What took you so long anyway?"

Draco sat across him and the two boys followed suit, taking the place on either side of his friend. Keiran raised his eyebrow at this and Draco scowled in reply.

"Father decided to saddle me with these…bodyguards." Draco said the last word like it was something very dirty, Keiran smirked at this.

"Bodyguards?" Keiran queried, Draco scowled deeper. "Now why don't I get those as well?"

"Father took me to take care of you." Draco said quietly.

"What? You're my nanny?" Keiran taunted.

"It's not like that!" Draco bristled.

Keiran continued smiling at his best friend to the blond boy's extreme irritation as the train began to move. Soon, Keiran decided to stop pestering Draco and he took out a book charmed to look like it was a simple spell book when it was actually his favorite book about dark rituals, and began reading it. Draco was staring out the window, picking a spot on his chin.

Keiran was just getting unto blood rituals when the door slid open and another one of his friends walked in. Theodore Nott. He smiled at his friends and gave a quizzical look toward the two bulky boys. Draco shot him a look that clearly said, 'Don't ask'. Shrugging his shoulders, he proceeded to levitate his trunk to the luggage rack. Keiran tucked a bookmark in his chapter and put his book aside.

"Hey, Theo." He said leaning forward" Have you managed to shift into your Animagus form yet?"

"No." Theo said, sitting on the empty spot beside Keiran, "You?"

Keiran shook his head, then he pointed his thumb in Draco's direction: No, but Draco has. He's a gull of some sort."

"I'm not a gull!" Draco hissed, "I'm an albatross!"

"Whatever." Keiran said offhandedly, "Have you seen Daphne?" he asked Theo.

"Yeah, she's with Draco's fiancé. She said she'll meet with us during the feast." Theo replied with a slight smirk in Draco's direction. Draco glared at the twosome.

"Is it irritate Draco day?" he demanded, looking dirtily back and forth between Keiran's amused face and Theo's innocent looking one. He groaned and ran his hand through his platinum blonde hair. Keiran smirked at his friend as he settled into a more comfortable position; it was going to be a long ride for Draco.

A few hours later…

A fleet of small rowboats glided gracefully through the calm waters of Hogwarts Lake. Aboard them were the first years of this generation accompanied by a dark hulking figure covered in moleskin overcoat. Not a word was said as every single one of them gazed upon the great castle before them. Most were looking up with awe and wonder, but as always, there were exceptions.

"Is this it?" Keiran whispered furiously to the blonde boy sitting beside him. "I expected more. Seriously, father's castle must be twice the size of this pile of rubble!" he folded his arms on his chest and scowled deeply.

Draco only chuckled in amusement at his best friend's reaction and shrugged. "You better keep it down, Kei. You are supposed to be living in my family manor. Not in some castle bigger than Hogwarts the great." He said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Keiran scowled down at Draco, "You really should trust me more. Do you seriously think that I'd speak about father out loud with all these people around?" he asked testily with an elegantly raised eyebrow.

"Well…I…uh." Draco was stumped. "What did you do?"

Keiran snorted, "Put very eloquently, Draco." Then he uplifted his hands. "Take a look around you."

And Draco did. That was when he noticed that a blue shimmery bubble surrounding the two of them that one would only notice if you took a closer look. Draco recognized it to be the privacy ward that Lucius had been teaching them before they were sent to school. Draco was yet to master it. It looked like Keiran had better results from the ward than he did.

"Heads down!" the big giant in the leading boat bellowed as the first few boats reached the cliff, their conversation was cut short as all of them bent their heads down and the boats passed through curtains of ivy draped across a wide fissure in the cliff face. Keiran removed the privacy ward around them as they entered a dark tunnel leading them under the castle. It would not do for a teacher to know that he could do magic taught to seventh years. Finally, their boats bumped against some sort of underground harbor where they clambered out unto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" the big man called while checking the boats people had vacated them.

"Trevor!" A chubby brown haired boy exclaimed, holding out his short hands. They climbed up a passageway in the rock after the giant's lamp, coming out at last unto the smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps which Keiran looked upon with disgust and crowded around a huge oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" then when nobody responded he raised one of his gigantic fists and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door abruptly opened and a formidable looking old witch in emerald green robes stood before them. She had a very stern face but that didn't face Keiran at all. She was a mediocre compared to when his father worked up a temper.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The giant said

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here." She replied in a crisp voice.

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was barely as big as the one at his father's castle. Keiran yawned widely while everybody else looked around in wonder. Draco sniggered at his antics, but said nothing, he had been to his friends place and he knew just how magnificent that place was compared to this. Yes, this place did have a marble staircase, but Keiran's palace had a grander one by ten-fold...

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Keiran could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a drab doorway to the right-the rest of the school must already be there-but Professor McGonagall lead them into a small empty chamber, just off the hall. They crowded in slowly; Keiran observed the dirty room with an air of disgust, Draco clutched his sides in silent laughter. Theo on the other hand was looking bored.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Said Professor McGonagall. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be like your family at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your House dormitory. And spend your free time in the house common room.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." At this, Draco turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Keiran. Keiran eyed him weirdly and scooted a few inches away. "Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on the chubby brown-haired boy's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on a Weasley, Keiran thought, as he could see that he had the vivid red hair and a robe that was too small for him. Who had a smudged nose. What was his name again? Rufus? Reggie?

"I shall return when we are all ready for you," she continued. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Keiran immediately rounded unto Draco. "What was it with that eyebrow thing?" he demanded exasperated.

Draco smirked at him and said, "Just trying to freak you out. You've been irritating me throughout the train ride. I figured it was time for retribution." Keiran scowled at him. "How do they sort us into houses anyway?" he asked, changing the subject.

"You mean you don't know?" Draco responded in disbelief. Keiran shook his head. "I would have thought your Father would have told you. He tells you everything." He added.

"He said he wanted me to be kept in suspense." Keiran complained. "All I really am feeling now is annoyance."

They stood quietly for a few moments, taking in their surroundings. Keiran's brow still wrinkled in anger. Then suddenly Draco and Theo jumped in surprise as a gaggle of transparent figures streamed through the back wall, talking among them.

"Forgive and forget," a fat monk was saying. "I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost are you all doing here?" A ghost in tights and a ruff suddenly noticed the first years.

"Isn't that quite obvious?" Keiran mumbled to Draco who nodded brusquely. Keiran was eyeing one of the ghosts warily. This one was wearing a gaunt face and bloodied clothes with chains hanging from his hands and feet. The ghost was staring at him most eerily with his unblinking eyes.

"Uh, Draco. Who's that ghost with the chains?" Keiran whispered to Draco. He hid his uneasiness well, as the said ghost tilted his head to the side and his gaunt face took on an appraising look.

"That is the Bloody Baron." Draco whispered back.

The Bloody baron suddenly smiled, a small yet unnerving smile, before it flew away. But Keiran noticed that before it flew away he gave Keiran a brief and stiff nod. Beside him, Draco had gone pale, having seen the gesture.

"Do you think that he…"Draco began in a frightened voice.

"He couldn't have." Keiran cut through, "We went through the necessary precautions. It's impossible for him to find out." He was sure about that. Draco didn't look convinced though, but he didn't want to contradict Keiran.

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. 'The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned, one by one the ghost floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now form a line," the Professor told the first years. "And follow me."

Keiran fell in line behind a blonde girl with pigtails while Theo followed behind him, with Draco trailing behind, and they walked out of the chamber and through a pair of double doors leading into the Great Hall.

Keiran could only sigh as he entered the Hall. It would have been magnificent to anybody else but he had been used to more grandiose settings and much more luxuriant furniture compared to the four plain wooden tables and the straight wooden benches which didn't even have clawed feet or even a single trace of carvings. Keiran doubted that varnish had even been used on the pathetic things.

The only truly eye-catching thing about the room was the thousands and thousands of candles floating in the air, illuminating the vast space. Though it was true that Keiran had grown up in a place far more magnificent than this there was a slight flaw in the castle. It lacked light. And to add more to the things that Keiran liked about the room, and probably the only thing he really liked about it was the ceiling. Or rather, the space where the ceiling should be. He looked up and saw that there was a smattering of sparkling white stars above them; it was too beautiful to be a mere illusion.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." A bushy haired girl up front was heard whispering to the Indian girl beside her.

'That explains it." Keiran thought. 'Maybe I should request for father to recreate this at home.'

A sudden singing up front interrupted his musings. He looked on as the Sorting Hat, or if that really is a hat, more like a bundle of frayed dirty rags, sang the school song.

_OH, you may not think I'm pretty_

_But don't judge by what you see_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me_

_You can keep your bowlers black,  
your top hats sleek and tall,  
for I'm the __Hogwarts__ Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
so try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be. _

_You might belong in __Gryffindor__,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set __Gryffindor__s apart;  
You might belong in __Hufflepuff__,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient __Hufflepuff__s are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old __Ravenclaw__,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in __Slytherin__  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

_!_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the tables before becoming still again.

"So we just have to try it on. I'd gladly do it if it weren't so dirty." Keiran heard Draco mutter behind him.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward, a long scroll of parchment in her hands. "When I call your name," she announced, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."

"Abbot, Hannah!"

The girl in front of Keiran stumbled out to the front of the line. She put on the hat and sat n the stool. There was a moment's pause before the brim opened wide and…

"Hufflepuff!"

The table on the right cheered madly as Hannah was welcomed into their midst. Keiran ran his hand through his hair, causing it to be messier than it usually was, but he didn't mind. The messy look fit him.

"Black, Keiran!"

He stepped forward and walked toward the Professor. He sat on the stool and he winced as the woman dropped the hat on his head.

"Why, this is very interesting." A voice said in his head. "Would you mind Mr. Black if you remove your mind shields just for now?"

Keiran considered it before replying in his head. "Do you see memories or just the personalities of the people you sort?" he said warily.

"Do not worry Mr. Black. I see only your traits and personalities. And in any case I am sworn to secrecy." The voice replied.

"Good." Keiran thought. Then he brought down his mental shields.

"Hmmm." The small voice said in his ear. ". You are brave, but not over the top. You have a sharp mind and you have a great amount of patience. But I see that the greatest quality of yours is your thirst to prove yourself."

Keiran began to worry at that point. This sorting was taking way too long. Why did it have to do that with him? Wasn't it obvious that he was Slytherin through and through, wasn't it obvious?

"Ah, it's apparent now, yes." The Sorting Hat finally said, "SLYTHERIN!"

The hat shouted out the last word and Keiran handed it over to the Professor in relief. He wouldn't even dare to think what would have happened to him had he been sorted into another house. No doubt, newspapers would be flashing the headlines soon, "BELLATRIX BLACK MURDERS 11-YEAR OLD BOY". Yes that would probably be the reaction he would get.

He strolled toward the table on the far right while everyone was clapping their hands politely. He sat himself beside a burly boy who looked like he had troll blood in him.

"I'm Flint. Marcus Flint." The boy said to him, holding out his hand." Keiran took it with a small smile on his face. "I hope you'd help us win the house cup this year."

"Oh, I will." Keiran replied with certainty. Flint smiled approvingly down at him.

When: "Greengrass, Daphne!" was called and placed in Slytherin, Keiran made sure to applaud as loudly as he could. Daphne could be as frightening as Kiara could be when she was angry. Daphne sat beside him and gave him a brief hug before she struck a conversation once again with the blonde prefect across from her.

Keiran ignored the rest of the sorting ceremony, He had noticed that the Bloody Baron was floating just a few seats away from him and he was gazing at him unnervingly. It was only until "Malfoy, Draco!" was called that he averted his gaze from the mysterious ghost and focused back on the Sorting Ceremony.

Draco swaggered forward and the hat had barely touched the top of his head when the hat shouted in a sort of panic.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Draco grinned as he removed the hat and went to sit beside his best friend.

"Why did the hat take so long with you?" he inquired as soon as he had settled down on the bench.

"I had to remove my shields." Was all the answer that he got.

"Nott, Theodore!"

Keiran and Draco watched as the third member of their band had the hat placed on his head and was promptly placed into Slytherin. He sat beside Draco and didn't utter a single word. His friends didn't mind, they were used to his silence.

There weren't many people left now. Three more Slytherin's joined the table. Then there was a Ravenclaw, a Gryffindor and another Hufflepuff before something that made Keiran's blood boil was shouted out to the crowd.

"Potter, Violet!"

Keiran watched angrily as a red head walked to the front. Her auburn hair was covering up most of her face from his point of view. But he saw that she was short and thin, and she seemed to be shaking as she moved forward.

"Is that her?" he whispered angrily to Draco. "It doesn't seem like she could even cast a proper curse with the state that she's in. Draco nodded with a glint in his eye. Daphne ended her conversation with the prefect abruptly, looking up to the front in interest.

He wasn't the only one who was whispering about the Potter brat. All around the hall whispers had broken out and it seemed like there were suddenly tons of snakes in the area.

"Potter? The Violet Potter?"

"The Girl-Who-Lived."

Keiran clenched his teeth when he heard the last statement but he kept his temper down. He came here for a reason. Killing a schoolmate would greatly damage his cover.

Potter grimaced as she turned to face the crowd. She put on the hat and sat on the stool. Keiran waited for her to be proclaimed as a Gryffindor, what else could she be? But the hat remained silent and more whispers began to circulate in the crowd.

"What's taking so long?" they all echoed.

And then finally the brim of the hat ripped open and the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

"What?!" Keiran bellowed. And he wasn't the only one. People were staring up in shock at the pale girl in front of them. Hisses were heard in the crowd while everybody else just looked amazed. No one was clapping. Then just as suddenly, the school broke out of its trance and a few who had kept their heads began clapping politely as Potter made her way toward the Slytherin table.

"This isn't happening." He said furiously, and then he turned to Draco, "Make sure she doesn't sit beside us." He threatened.

And she didn't sit beside them, but she sat across from them. Keiran growled slightly and he kept his head down. He wasn't ready to see the girl yet. He didn't trust himself enough to not blast her into smithereens, not that he didn't want to. But he still had a job to carry out.

"So Potter, eh." He heard Draco drawl beside him, while he looked anywhere away from her. "How come you're not in Gryffindor? Your no pure blood and you definitely have none of our Slytherin cunning. Maybe you should be in Hufflepuff if even the great Gryffindor can't take you."

"You know nothing about me Malfoy." A surprisingly emotionless voice answered. Keiran looked up to see that Potter was looking at him with emerald green eyes. Her eyes were sad. Not one fit for an eleven year old. She looked like she had seen some things that she shouldn't have seen in her young age. Keiran could admit that he too had seen things no child should have seen, but he didn't have the haunted look her eyes showed. For a moment, he felt a stab of pity for her, before he remembered who she was and he looked away in disgust.

He found himself looking up at the staff table. Professor Quirrel was staring at him, terrified. Keiran smirked at him and he looked quickly away striking up an impromptu conversation with the hook-nosed teacher beside him. He would have to speak with the coward later on.

Keiran chose not to pay attention during the rest of the evening. He ate his dinner quietly, feeling Potters eyes on him but he chose not to comment. It was not until Dumbledore's ending speech that Keiran perked up when his ears heard something that he wanted to hear.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Keiran smirked at the old mans foolishness. Genius was he. Just by saying those words, a few of the troublemakers no doubt would snoop around that particular area. He had aroused their curiosity. And that was not to say people like Keiran were very interested in that one fact. The 'brilliant headmaster' was making his job so much easier.

"Off you trot!" Dumbledore announced and there was a great scraping as the benches were pushed back and everyone stood up.

"First years follow me." Flint called over the sea of heads.

Keiran and Draco made their way toward the fifth year with Potter on their heels. Waiting by Flint were some first years that Keiran recognized. Daphne was already waiting for them there and so was Theo. Severus Snape, their tutor was standing beside Theo, and he was currently glowering at the small redhead behind them. Keiran did his best to hide his smirk but he just couldn't. A fierce smile broke up on his handsome face, Snape obviously saw this and he glowered even more.

Flint led them down into the dungeons until they faced a bare stonewall. "The password is 'Parseltongue'." Flint said, and the moment he said it a concealed door in the wall sprang open and the first years filed in.

"I must say, this isn't what I was expecting." Theo, as whispered to Keiran, who nodded in disdain, "This is drab compared to Malfoy Manor…"

The room was dark and there were no windows. Green lanterns gave the room an eerie green glow. Several high-backed chairs stood facing the fireplace and a couple more were scattered everywhere, with coffee tables in between every five chairs or so. Snake carvings were seen in almost every piece of furniture and a big portrait of Salazar Slytherin was hung above the fireplace. In Keiran's mind it raked a bare passable.

"The boy's dormitories are on the stairs down to the right. Girls, door on the left. You should sleep well tonight. But tomorrow I expect all of you to be here early for the cerimonia di accettazione "Flint said, before he left them to their own devices.

Keiran, Draco, Theo and three other Slytherin boys strolled into their new dormitory. Keiran found that his bed was the one on the farthest end of the room. It was also quite obvious that his drapes and blankets were far more ornate than his dorm mates were, but that was expected. It was one of the advantages of having a Death Eater at school. Threatening him with endless cruciatus curses for an hour seemed to have done the trick. Not that he would do it himself. He had never performed an unforgivable before.

Theo looked like he wanted to say something to Keiran but he ignored it. He plopped down on his bed and pretended to sleep without even changing his clothes. Keiran heard his friend walk away from him and before long every single one in the room had fallen asleep, apart from him. Keiran stood up carefully. He tiptoed over to the Slytherin common room and when he was sure that nobody was there before he dived behind one of the high backed chairs, and a magnificent black phoenix emerged behind it.

The bird had a black plumage from head to toe, but even through his dark coloring, he still seemed to radiate light. There were only two things on the bird that deviated from the black colored scheme. On the top of his head was a silver stripe of feathers, which almost looked like a crown. His eyes, on the other hand, were a bright emerald green. Even though his eyes on his human form was a deep royal blue.

Without further ado, the bird disappeared in a flash of black flames.

~0~

Quirrel was staring into the fireplace. Deep in thought. His fingers drummed impatiently against the mahogany armrest of his chair. The boy was late. He was supposed to be here an hour ago, he had been on the verge of falling asleep on a regular basis but each of those times, a jolt of electricity, similar to the cruciatus, would sizzle through his skin.

"Not yet." The disembodied voice reminded yet. "He's coming."

And Quirrel had no choice but to obey. He was just beginning to fall asleep again when a flash of black flames before him sent him flying out of his chair. Quirrel fell on all fours and grimaced as he heard the boy laughing behind him. It was just the boy and he had to be so jumpy. Knowing the boy, he wouldn't hear the end of this.

"Stand up Quirrel." The boy ordered coldly when he had finished laughing. The sudden change in his manner was unnerving.

Quirrel stood up shakily and turned to face his young master. His cold blue eyes were looking him straight in the eye and Quirrel barely managed to suppress a shudder. Sometimes the young master could be even more intimidating than even the dark lord was, this was a feat in itself since Quirrel was sent cowering by a boy two heads shorter than him.

"Dark Prince." Quirrel mumbled reverently before sinking in a low bow.

"I wish to speak with him." The boy hissed, not even acknowledging the greeting offered to him.

Quirrel sprang to his feet. He turned his back to the boy and began unwrapping his turban. He waited in trepidation as layer after layer was shed. He knew that he must be used to hearing the Dark Lords voice by now but no matter how hard he tried it still gave him the creeps.

"Ah, Keiran, tell me how did your first day go?" he heard the cold voice greet the boy. It was beyond Quirrel how this eleven-year old boy could speak with the Dark Lord could speak without even a sliver of fear in his voice when fully-grown men were known to faint in his presence.

"It went well, Father." Keiran replied.

Oh, maybe that explained it.

**A/N: And that's it! I hoped you liked it. His name was originally going to be Damien but I recently learned that the name meant "Sweet and harmless" and that doesn't fit at all so I chose Keiran which means "Little and Dark". Kiara also means little and dark while Keelan means warrior descending.**

**Feedback is greatly appreciated!**


	3. Friends and Gifts

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer-I doubt any of you would believe me if I said that I was Rowling so I won't say that. This isn't mine. Just how terrible is that?**

**Living a Lie**

Keiran's first day at Hogwarts was uneventful so far. He had woken up before the sun even rose and after he had showered and dressed, he had begun exploring the castle. So far, he had met with two ghosts and one vanishing stair. He'd really have to remember where those trick steps were, it took a good three minutes before he managed to tug his foot out of the thing.

He held a calm disposition on the outside but in the inside, he was still pretty much boiling with rage. Or maybe it was just irritation. Either way, he was in a bad mood. And it was all because of the conversation he had with his father last night.

*_Flashback*_

"Wasn't it quite a surprise when Potter was placed in Slytherin?" Voldemort asked in a conversational tone.

"An unpleasant surprise." Keiran agreed.

"I have a task for you, son. But I'm afraid it won't be easy."

"What is it?" Keiran asked curiously, anything was welcome as he was quite sure that most of the things that were going to be taught in class were things that he had learnt ages ago.

"You need to befriend Potter." Voldemort stated, red eyes glinting in malice.

"What?!" Keiran blurted, of all the things, he certainly wasn't expecting that.

"You need to befriend her." His Father repeated, obviously amused by his reaction.

"B-but, why?" he spluttered indignantly.

"There's this muggle saying: 'keep your friends close, your enemies closer.'" Voldemort replied.

Keiran stayed silent for a few moments staring at the fire behind Quirrel's desk, and then he spoke: "I understand." He said, raising his blue eyes to gaze into his Father's crimson irises. "I need to know her, her weaknesses and her strengths. We can use it against her." Then his face twisted into a cruel smile, "How very cunning of you, Father."

"Be careful, Keiran. You must not harm her." Then when he saw Keiran's outraged look he chuckled and added, "For now."

"But, how can you be so calm about this?!" Keiran snarled, "She's the reason why we even have to do this! Why you're sticking out of some cowards head!"

"Silence!" Voldemort roared, and Keiran looked down at his feet in shame. "When the time for us to collect the stone has come, you shall lead her to me." He explained, he had far more patience with his children than he had with his Death Eaters. If Keiran wasn't his son, it was apparent that he would be writhing on the ground in pain by now.

"Yes, Father." Keiran said grudgingly.

"Besides, who would suspect the Girl-Who-Lived's best friend to be the Dark Lord's son?"

_*End Flashback*_

Keiran and his Father had talked about far trivial things after that and later Keiran had stumbled into bed with his mind swimming in emotions. Waking up hadn't been any better. It was hard for him to think of himself staying in the same room with Violet for a long time, let alone actually making friends with her.

He ran his hand through his hair again, a habit he picked up in his childhood. He was getting more and more agitated and right now he needed to calm down. By the look of the light coming in from the windows the sun had finally rose and Keiran was expected to be at the Great Hall soon. That was when he planned to offer his hand of friendship. But if he didn't manage to calm his feelings down before them, there would be no person to offer his friendship to at all.

When he realized that, he was getting nearer to the Great Hall he dug his bag out of his pocket, unshrunk it, and flung it over his shoulder. From what he knew, first years weren't supposed to know how to shrink stuff yet until they were in third year, or sometime around that year. Pathetic.

Keiran stood silently in front of the huge double doors, breathing deeply. Then he shook his head angrily, why was he trying so hard to not get the girl killed anyway? It wouldn't bloody matter to him anyway. He pushed the doors open and he stalked moodily towards the Slytherin table.

The staff table was already filled with people but only a few students were milling around the house tables. Prefect and Head boys and girls were a commodity and the more bookish types were awake too, shoveling food in their mouths while their noses were buried in their ultra-think books. Keiran was quite glad to say that he wasn't part of either group. Sure, he liked to read books but Keelan was the bookworm of the family.

He found a seat at the end of the table. None of his friends were there yet, not even the Potter girl, Ahem, Violet, was there yet. He piled bacon and scrambled eggs on his plate and began to eat slowly, this trying to control his emotions as he chew his food slowly, deliberately.

Then a handsome tawny owl landed in front of him, it was his sisters' owl, Lovely was its name. He shook his head at the thought of her sisters' eccentric naming, honestly, her girly side showed up at the worst possible moments. He almost felt sorry for the owl, almost.

Anyway, the owl dropped a scroll in front of him and flew away. Keiran grabbed the scroll, unrolled it and began to read.

_Dear Keiran, _

_How's Hogwarts? Tell me everything! Have you been sorted into Slytherin? You better have been or I'm going to have to be the one to murder you myself, or Mother might just disown you. Actually, that's a great idea! Tell me that you got sorted into Gryffindor. That would be perfect for me! You'd be disowned and I would be the heir of the Slytherin and Black fortune! Just kidding._

_Do me a favor and hit Draco on the head for me. He's been an arse these last few days telling me about how he was going to Hogwarts and I wasn't. And an advanced 'thank you' too! _

_Keelan wants me to tell you to say hi to Father. Make sure to incendio this afterwards ok? I know this is written In Parseltongue but I want to be sure that no one reads this. Mother might send her letter to you sometime this week. Make sure you say hi to Sev for us okay? If he gives you any grief, tell him to remember August 5th! That'll make him stop._

_And make sure you don't stop working out. When you get home for Christmas, I'm going to test your progress. Don't disappoint me! You left your dragonhide gloves by the way, Mother went ballistic. She'll send it to you with Hades. I can't believe you left him too. He'll be pecking you for days. _

_Sarah is very worried about you, she's impatiently waiting for Father to come pick her up. But I don't think that's going to happen till Halloween, but that's what I told her anyway though the Father is coming this Saturday. She threatened to bite me after she found out from Mother that Father was coming this week. You really must train her more. You just leave her alone for a day and she's cranky enough to bite of all of our heads._

_Just take care okay? And don't let the opportunity of being there go to your head. Don't go off like Draco, boasting about attending Hogwarts. Yech, I hate him. Can't Theo be your best friend instead? _

_Oh, I have to go now; Keelan is challenging me to another game of chess. I don't know why I even bother to go against him. We never win when it's in chess. Anyway, Good luck with your task!_

_Love, Kiara._

Keiran smiled despite himself, Typical Kiara, starting tough and ending with the soft heart she hid. He chuckled at the thought of his familiar, Sarah, threatening to bite Kiara. The two had never gotten along. Never the less the letter had proved to be a good thing. His bad mood had diminished.

"Hey." A female voice broke him from his thoughts. Daphne had seated herself beside him; she leaned over to the letter with a curious expression. "What do you have there?" When she saw the squiggles and curls that she had told him that she saw whenever he read Parseltongue, comprehension dawned on her features and she leaned away.

"Another one of those coded messages huh." She said before she began eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Keiran stuffed the letter in his pocket and turned to Daphne, a wicked grin on his face. "Hey, Daph, you finally done negotiating with Pansy?" he said.

"Negotiating? What do you mean?" Daphne asked, obviously puzzled.

"Come off it. We all know you wish it was you who was promised to Draco in marriage." Keiran teased, raising his eyebrow.

"Shut up! Draco's heading this way!" Daphne shrieked in his ear, and sure enough, the head of platinum blonde hair was heading their way, the two burly bodyguards by his side. Keiran had already forgotten their names. Had they even been introduced? Theo was trailing quietly behind them, his eyes trained on a black booklet.

"Where've you been?" Draco demanded, once he had sat himself directly across Keiran, his two cronies automatically taking the two spots beside him, while Theo went to sit on Daphne's other side. Draco seemed extremely pissed, his usually well-kept hair stood at odd places and he seemed paler than he usually was. Keiran nearly groaned when he saw what Draco looked like, sure Lucius had ordered is son to 'take care' of him when they were at school but that didn't mean that Draco always had to know where he was all the time.

"Around." Was all that Keiran said.

Draco opened his mouth to question Keiran more, his eyebrows coming together, but Daphne cut him off: "Why do you look like you've been through hell twice over?" she asked with an amused smirk.

"I do not!"

While the two continued to bicker like an old married couple Keiran noticed a red something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head so he could see what it was and to his horror, it was Violet Potter walking toward the Slytherin table. He let out a frustrated sigh, time to let the games begin. Violet stood at the side of the table, an uncertain look on her face. _She doesn't know where to sit! _A voice whispered to him in his head. He saw a great opportunity, and he, very reluctantly, took it.

"Hey, Potter, come sit with us!" Keiran called out. He smiled reassuringly at the redhead as she gave him a small smile and walked over to sit with them. Keiran purposefully chose to not notice Draco choking on his scrambled eggs as the bigger one of his cronies thumped him heavily on the back.

"Thanks." Violet said quietly as she took the seat beside Keiran. "I guess you already know my name, what's yours?"

Her eyes didn't quite meet his though, she was looking out the window, a hint of fear on her face, but it quickly disappeared and she looked back down at the table. She grabbed a toast and began nibbling on it, her eyebrows furrowing into an unmistakable frown as she did so.

"Is something bothering you?" Keiran asked, more out of curiosity then concern.

"No." Violet answered a little too quickly, and then she shook her head and said, "Actually, yes, I'm expecting a letter from my dad."

Keiran nodded, "he wouldn't be too pleased with you being placed in Slytherin."

"He isn't very understanding…" Violet trailed off. "But you didn't answer my question. What's your name?"

"I'm Keiran, Keiran Black." Keiran said, offering her his hand to shake, while he was seething inside. Violet gave him another one of her small smiles and shoo his hand. "It's nice to meet you." She said. Keiran didn't know what else to say so the pair just continued to eat in silence. Across from him, Draco was giving him questioning looks. Keiran looked sideways to make sure that Violet wasn't looking before he mouthed one word to Draco.

"Later."

As the meal progressed and the Great Hall was as crowded as it was the previous night, Professor Snape started handing out schedules. He gave them to the students without even sparing them a glance but once he reached Violet, he took one look at her flinched, thrust the schedule against her chest and turned to face Keiran with a tic on his eyebrow.

"Uncle Sev!" Draco greeted from across the table. Keiran just decided to flash him his best vampire grin. Snape scowled down at the two of them before giving both of them their scheduled.

"At least Daphne and Theodore are behaving well." He muttered under his breath. Keiran heard this and it caused him to smile even wider at his former mentor.

Snape chose to ignore this as he progressed down the table. Keiran chuckled to himself, Severus had always been rather creeped out by him, and Keiran reveled in that. It was quite similar to the fear that his father inspired. But not quite. For Keiran it was a simple taste of what was to come.

"You know him?" Violet asked him curiously.

"Yes, he was my tutor before I went here." Keiran answered. "Did you have one?"

Violet shook her head, "No, Dad didn't want me to spend a lot of time in the Magical World; He said it might make me big-headed." She said.

"So where did you stay?" Keiran asked curiously, he never knew about Violet Potter leaving the Magical world. It must've been a secret; otherwise, the press would've had a field day.

"During the weekends I stay with my parents and on Christmas too. But on all the other days, I stay with my aunt's family. They're muggles" Violet replied quietly.

Keiran had a strong suspicion that there was more to it than what she said but he didn't push the subject. It didn't really matter to him and it would just hurt his chances of gaining her friendship. While he was thinking of another topic they could probably discuss which could lighten the mood but before anything could come to mind Violet asked him a question that sent his emotions reeling.

"Keiran…are we friends?" Violet asked bluntly, as she continued to pick on her oatmeal, her eyes fixed upon her hands and a soft blush forming on her pale cheeks.

Keiran gulped and answered quickly, maybe a little too quickly but thankfully, Violet didn't notice: "Of course we're friends!"

Violet smiled shyly again as she moved the food around her bowl. "It's just…I never had friends before." She whispered.

But Keiran wasn't paying attention to whatever she was saying anymore. He was busy dealing with his emotional turmoil, which consisted of horror over what he had just told her, hate for her, anger for himself, irritation at his father's orders and somehow, there was a tiny twinge of guilt. He quickly excused himself from the table and headed over to one of the bathrooms he had discovered on his early wanderings.

Once he got there, he dropped his bag by the sink and splashed water on his face. Shaking his head, he looked into the rather dusty mirror in front of him, right into the troubled deep blue eyes of his reflection. What was the matter with him? He never had a problem with manipulating people before. Where did all this guilt come from? Breathing hard he pressed his hand against his chest and felt the reassuring ticking of the tiny metal heart which belonged to the locket of Slytherin which he always kept on his person. It was reassuring for him to know that he always had a part of his father with him.

_*Flashback*_

He and Kiara were sparring again, this time it was just plain physical combat. Kiara was better at this than Keiran was but Keiran wasn't a wimp either. Both of them were breathing hard and sweating as they alternated between attack and evade. They would have gone on like that for hours if their Father hadn't interrupted.

"Keiran, Kiara, come here, I've got something for you." He called from the doorway. Today he was in his own form again, having undergone another dark ritual that promised his body back, but for only one month. He motioned for them to follow him and walked towards the room just across the training room. Salazar's own personal study.

Reluctantly abandoning their exhilarating exercise, the pair followed their father, both with excited looks on their faces. Bellatrix was waiting for them at the study, two velvet boxes sitting on her lap. Both of the dark-haired children looked at the boxes greedily the moment they saw it. Keiran was the first one who schooled his features into an emotionless mask, albeit one with a tiny curl on his lips. Kiara had always been the one with the trouble to control her emotions. She was far too…fiery.

"Keiran," Voldemort began. "I've decided that you have reached a part of your training where you are ready to defend something aside from yourself."

He took the green velvet box from Bellatrix and placed it in Keiran's hands, enclosing Keiran's smaller hands around the container. "I place my trust in you."

Keiran eyed the green velvet box in wonder, he opened it slowly with trembling hands and his eyes widened when he saw what was inside. It was a locket, oval shaped with an ornate S in the center, looking like a snake.

"But, Father…are you sure? This, this is a horcrux isn't it?" Keiran asked shakily, as he reached his hand in the box and pulled the locket out, dangling it in the air as he continued to eye it in wonder.

Kiara looked on with jealousy and anticipation in her eyes as Voldemort nodded and said to the pair of them: "I have decided that you are trained enough, I place my Horcruxes with you knowing that you can protect it better than any other enchantment could possibly cast." He took the locket from Keiran's hands and put it around his son's neck. Keiran looked down at his father's gift in awe.

Bellatrix stood up with the black velvet box in her hands, smiling at Kiara as she did so. "This one is yours my dear. Prove that you are worthy, always keep it with you."

Kiara opened hers excitedly and Keiran craned his neck to see what was in her box. It was a ring. It had a circle encased within a triangle with one line going right through it. It was also a horcrux.

Kiara proudly placed in on her finger and admired its place there. "Thank you father! It's beautiful!" she gasped.

"You're welcome, Ara."

"Now both of you go back to your training, prove that you are worthy of your gifts." Bellatrix ordered. And the pair scurried out and began training, doing more taxing tasks than they had before, determination in their very cores.

*end flashback*

Unbeknownst to the siblings, the moment they left that room, Bellatrix had turned to Tom with a smile on her face and she had crooned: "That was Genius, Tom. Whatever Potter or Weasley left of them after the blood adoption would surely be overridden by the influence of your soul. Ingenious."

"I'm not a Slytherin for nothing you know." The Dark Lord drawled.

"Is it true?" a voice interrupted them. Blue eyes were looking at them from the still open door. The youngest of the threesome was standing there. His hair in its usually perfectly arranged disarray and his emotionless mask on.

Bellatrix peered nervously at Voldemort, but he was just smiling serenely down at the only true biological son they had.

"Yes." Voldemort stated. "You must keep this a secret. But it is true. You are the only natural born Riddle."

If they had expected the seven-year-old child to be horrified, or to be saddened by the new information they had been horribly surprised. But then, what else would you expect from a true blue child of the dark lord and his cruelest follower? The boy dropped his emotionless façade and let out a small cruel smirk.

"Perfect."

A/N: I'm sorry if I can't make it as British as I'd like, fact is I live in a place where barely anyone really knows how to speak fluent English. I'm open to critics and suggestions, but please no flames!

How many chapters do you think I should make for each year at Hogwarts? The real action starts at fifth year but I've planned for some big things to happen,

PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	4. Continuation of the first day

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived, yet he ended up being her best friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark!Harry.

**A/N: ****Your reviews make my day! Thanks a lot! IF you see, any grammar or spelling mistakes blame it on word, not me. Ms Word makes the most ridiculous suggestions to my perfect grammar. Sometimes makes me wonder about who really does have a spelling and grammar check program, Microsoft Word? Or me?**

**And for those who were wondering how Harry became Keiran…you'll find out gradually.**

**Disclaimer-This isn't mine, aside from the plot of course. Anything you recognize belongs to the great Rowling.**

**Living a Lie**

_Halloween, 1981_

_Voldemort passed by the carefree laughter of the children dressed in costumes, the scent of sweets and the gaudily decorated houses with a smirk on his face. It was the perfect day to carry out his plan. To exterminate the little pests foretold to destroy him. Everybody was rejoicing, and so would he when the task was done. Some with wry humor would say that he was also perfectly dressed for rejoicing on this night, with his dark hood and billowing cloak. He had dressed in this manner once when he was young and it was Halloween at the orphanage, but he couldn't picture himself going up to one of the houses and yelling: "Trick or treat"! What would that do to his reputation?_

_He shook his head irritably. Where were all these silly thoughts coming from? Disgusted with himself, he proceeded to walk faster toward the house that had appeared at the end of the road, the house that nobody was supposed to be seeing. The smirk on his face was getting bigger and bigger and bigger as he approached. This was a good night._

_He could see the mudblood mother playing with her twins through what he supposed was the living room window. Foolish, naïve woman. Thinking that they could be safe by placing trust I friends. Voldemort vowed to never let that happen to him. He would never trust. He had no friends. Thus he wouldn't die. Placing his life and safety in somebody else's hands was preposterous!_

_"Tom!" Voldemort froze where he was. Only one person was allowed to call him by the detestable name without suffering a cruciatus or two, and he clearly remembered telling her to stay behind. He spun on the spot with his eyes narrowed, his suspicions were proven correct._

_Bellatrix was running toward him, her wavy hair flying behind her and a red-haired bundle in her arms. Her cheeks were flushed from all the running she had done and once she had caught up to him she had to take a few moments to catch her breath first, clutching his arm as she did so. She wasn't bothered by Voldemort's stern glare. Maybe she had seen it too often before._

_"And why, may I ask, are you here when I specifically ordered for you to stay behind?" Voldemort demanded in his cold tone once she had recovered._

_Bellatrix turned her gray eyes on him, she was frowning while she clutched the bundle to her chest. "I told you I wanted to come," she said. "I couldn't let anything happen to you."_

_Voldemort glared at her. "That's ridiculous! How could two infants possibly harm me, the greatest wizard on earth?" _

_Bellatrix looked alarmed by the rage that Voldemort was displaying. He on the other hand was quite pleased by the effect that he was having on her. But he didn't let it show on his physical features. Instead, he directed his crimson gaze towards the sleeping infant in Bellatrix's arms._

_"Why did you have to bring the brat?" he hissed. _

_Bellatrix lost her alarmed look at his words and she brought the infant closer to her. She glared at him. "It would be a disgrace if people found out that I had a miscarriage because of that blood traitor," She spat. "She's my replacement. All I need is a bit of your blood for the ritual and then…"_

_"Enough!" Voldemort cut her off, annoyed by her gall to defend the hideous thing. I see no reason why I should taint my blood with the likes of her."_

_"Well, if you won't allow me to blood adopt her then at least let me come with you. I can torture the woman for you. I can do anything. Just let me come with you."_

_"If anything goes wrong because of your insolence…" Voldemort trailed off, letting the message sink in. He was hoping that he could cow her to go away. But whenever it came to him and his safety, she would exhibit a Gryffindor like courage. She gave a determined nod, and then she took out a baby carrier and placed the redhead in it before slinging it over her back so that her arms could be free._

_Without waiting to see if Bellatrix was ready, Voldemort turned around and began walking towards the house again. Impatience bubbling within him. He pointed his wand at the door when he was affronted with it and blew it apart. With Bellatrix at is heel he entered the room swiftly. The mudblood mother shrieked and tried to shield her children from him, her wand trained on his heart, but he casually disarmed her and caused her to crumple to the ground in pain when a cutting charm of his slashed through her side. _

_"May I play with her, Tom?" Bellatrix asked sweetly behind him. _

_"Do as you please, Bella." Voldemort said._

_"Thank you. CRUCIO!"_

_The mudblood began screaming behind him as Bellatrix laughed maniacally. But Voldemort didn't pay attention to any of these. He turned to meet to identical emerald-green eyes. The girl was red-haired, and she was staring at him fearfully, the slight pucker of her lips showed that she was on the verge of crying. The boy on the other hand, had messy black hair that stuck at the back of his head and he was also staring up at Voldemort with his big emerald eyes, but he was different. He wasn't staring in fear, in fact, he looked angry. But Voldemort didn't care about what these babies felt. He put on a cruel smile and asked:_

_"Now, who wants to die first?" _

**Living a Lie**

Keiran rushed down the corridors, cursing himself under his breath as he hurtled around a corner, he hadn't noticed that he had spent a lot more time in the bathroom than he had intended too. By the time that he had gotten out, it had been five minutes past the time he should have been in the History of Magic classroom. So much for not attracting attention to himself like Father told him too. He was late for his first ever lesson. Curses.

If he hadn't taken the time to get to know Hogwarts earlier in the day he would have been lost and become even later. But as he had, and he couldn't be even more thankful for it, he found the classroom in six minutes and he burst through the door. He wasn't winded, but he pretended to be, so that he wouldn't draw attention to his unnaturally strong stamina.

Thankfully, the teacher, or what Keiran thought to be the teacher as he wasn't expecting a ghost to be the one teaching him, hadn't noticed his sudden appearance and simply continued droning in a gravelly tone. Keiran eyes the class uncertainly, unsure of where to sit. He caught Violet waving at him from the corner of his eye and he turned to see her beckoning to him, there was an empty chair beside her.

Suppressing the urge to groan, Keiran trudged over to the seat she was pointing too and sank in. Who would have known that success in his manipulations would make him feel so down? Meanwhile, Violet was grinning at him, unaware of the masochistic thoughts currently running through his brain.

Draco, who was sitting on the chair on the other side of Potter and was obviously regretting it, was giving him questioningly looks again. Keiran ignored these and focused his attention toward the lesson, and regretted it.

Professor Binns, as he learned his teachers name was from a nameplate on the table, proved to be a complete bore. He spoke as if he was just talking to himself, and it continued in one completely flat tone. Keiran gave up on taking notes 5 minutes through the lecture and decided to just read the history book thoroughly afterwards. Honestly, what was the staff thinking when they made History of Magic the first subject in the morning when they knew fully well, who the teacher was going to be? Magical education is definitely going downhill. _Now I understand why Father was so reluctant to send me here in the first place,_ Keiran thought, _this is bloody ridiculous._

He was just about falling asleep when Violet tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jolt up suddenly and knock his inkwell to the floor. The resulting crash made every head, except the professor's of course, to turn in their direction. Keiran glared at all of them coldly. They all turned their heads back to the front with a hint of fear in their eyes. Keiran could admit that his glares were top-rate frightening, second only to the Dark Lord himself. He smirked, reached down to save his inkwell from spilling more ink on the floor and turned to face the flushed Violet Potter

"Sorry about that." She whispered quietly, looking down at the little pool of ink the fallen inkwell had spilt. Her cheeks turning redder by the moment and her auburn hair swung in front of her eyes, covering them from view.

"It's okay." Keiran answered in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

Violet nodded mutely then she handed two letters to him, her eyes still not leaving the ground. "Draco told me to give these to you." She muttered, and then she turned back to her desk and began scribbling on the piece of parchment there.

Knitting his eyebrows together as he looked down at the letters he found out that they were from Keelan and his mother. He glanced up at the professor, there was no change there, still droning on and on with glazed eyes looking nowhere in particular, then deciding that he was missing nothing important, he took the letter from his mother and tucked it in his pocket. Then opened the letter from Keelan and began to read:

_Dear Keiran, _

_Should I even ask you about what house you've been sorted in? You might as well consider it as an insult so I better not. You might be wondering why in hell would I be sending you letters. Well let me get straight to the point. Be careful with Kiara's letters. _

_Dear sister has done something I dare call, mischievous, to them. I overheard her casting the enchantments and me, being the caring, loving, absolutely adorable little brother that I am, I'm warning you. _

_I know you're wondering if this is really me writing this letter. Right, my quiet, brooding, insensitive, cold brother being all sarcastic and stuff, but hey, all the silence I've been radiating lets me pent up some really nasty stuff in me; if you know what I mean. Anyway, as another explanation, I'm writing this letter to get back to you. No not revenge. Rather, it's my own way of thanking you for teaching me how to play the piano. One day, I swear you're going to regret doing that. Like the way you hate how you taught me how to play chess. I simply love the look on your face whenever I slaughter you on a game. Look towards brighter days dear brother, I have brilliant performances that you need to witness. _

_Your wonderful brother, Keelan._

Keiran honestly did not know whether he should laugh, or flame over to Slytherin Fortress in phoenix form to strangle the uppity little…wait, what was that again about Kiara's letters? He shot a horrified look at his pocket. He fumbled in it and extracted the crumpled piece of parchment. To his horror, his attempt to save himself from humiliation was a few moments too late. The ball of parchment was rapidly transforming into a cuddly, furry, pink and abominably cute…..thing. And it was sitting in his hand. Oh the horror.

HE tried to chuck it out the window, but quickly found out that it was stuck to his hand through a sticking charm. Hopefully not permanent, but with Kiara, you never know. Kiara had always been the master for torture, whether that included knives or pranks. Cursing under his breath, he remembered a part in the letter that Kiara had written;-_Make sure to incendio this-_perfect, Keiran thought. When I confront her about this, she's just going to say that she told me to get rid of it, and since he was too busy in his own affairs, it was his entire fault. Maybe Keelan was in the joke too, he knew that Keelan writing letters was suspicious. Blast it. This was probably a revenge for…well he didn't know really, there was a list of things he's done that deserved retribution. But he thought he'd be safe at Hogwarts.

Keiran decided not to set it on fire. It was stuck to his hand, if he set fire to it, then he was setting fire to himself as well. HE tried cutting curses but they were curbed away when they wee just an inch away from the thing. And now the thing was staring at him with large watery blue eyes. Sickeningly sweet. Keiran frowned at it, and it stuck out a long pink tongue at him. Wait, did it just do that?

"What's that?!" Violet's voice said from over his shoulder. She was goggling the-_thing. _By the look on her face, Keiran could tell tat she wasn't repulsed by it like he was. How she could do that was beyond him.

"It's ah," Keiran gave a brave stab a explaining why he had this creature in his hand. "It's a gift! Yeah. It's for you." He said, offering the fluffy ball to her. It was staring at her, blinking. She cooed at it and surprisingly, it hopped off, right into her waiting hands. What a relief.

"It's a gift?" Violet asked, still eyeing the creature with marveling eyes. When Keiran nodded, she grinned. "Thank you. I think I'll name it Kei."

Keiran winced. He glanced nervously around to make sure that nobody had seen or heard anything. When he saw Daphne's raised eyebrow and Draco's horrified expression, he had to stifle a groan. Great just great, he was going to have to thank Kiara soon. HE was going home at Christmas, and he decided that he was gong to train a lot harder than Kiara could possibly do. That's when he's going to thank her.

The bell rang after that and they all gathered their things, and shuffled into the corridor. Draco caught up with him right away. "What," he said in a hushed voice, "Was that?" he gestured toward the pink fuzz ball currently sitting on Violet's shoulder. Wince.

"That is Kiara's idea of a prank." Keiran stated. "And this," he continued, pointing at Violet and himself, "Is my Father's idea of spying."

Draco nodded; he wasn't one to question the Dark Lords orders. "That explains a lot." He said. "Saves me from thinking of you turning to the light side, it's not a pretty sight you know." He smirked at Keiran.

"I swear, one day you're going to regret all the times you irritated me. Let me remind you that you are still under my Father's mercy and me. Mother still hasn't forgiven you for the _accident_. One day you might just pay, _Draco." _Keiran hissed, his eyes narrowed.

Draco paled but Daphne came in beside him and said: "In a foul mood today are we? Does it have anything to do with the puffskein you gave Potter?"

"Oh, so that's what it's called." Keiran said. The he shook his head. But he didn't get the chance to say anything else as they entered the Transfiguration classroom. He immediately noticed that the cat sitting on top of the desk was surveying all of them rather sternly. Animagus! His senses were screaming when he recognized the familiar looking markings around the cats' eyes.

Everybody else ignored the cat and sat down in the chairs. Keiran smirked as he turned away from the cat, or rather Professor McGonagall. Didn't these people ever think? An Animagus form could be used for a dozen useful things. But that advantage was lost when everybody from the other side knew exactly what your form was. Showing your Animagus form to all the Slytherin's was a bad move. Keiran would make sure of it.

Keiran sat at the very back of the room so he could see everything that was happening. Violet went to sit beside him and she gave him a tentative smile, which he would have returned, had a blonde Gryffindor girl suddenly not burst into the room, point a Violet and scream "Traitor!" at the top of her lungs.

"Savior of the Wizarding World?!" The blonde girl continued to bellow, "Hah! I bet you killed he-who-must-not-be-named so you could take over! Filthy snake! How dare you try to befriend me on the train? Planning my own murder are you?!!!"

She continued to scream while Violet was becoming very red and tearful. Keiran could see that Professor McGonagall was yet to transform and seemed to actually agree wholeheartedly with the girl's tirade. He shook his head in disgust. The light sides were they? Prejudiced gits the lot of them. He hesitated for a moment, and then made his decision. He stood up, blocking Violet from view and glared directly at the girl. She stopped yelling and audibly gulped.

"You were saying?" Keiran asked sweetly. He raised his eyebrow at the now quivering lips of the blonde girl.

"I…" the girl now seemed speechless. Curious, she had a lot to say just a few moments ago. Keiran had a ton of insulting things he would have called her, but the Professor chose a very wrong time to butt in.

"Enough!" the lined grey woman screeched.

The blonde girl turned to face her, pale-faced. Keiran just looked on calmly.

"Ms. Brown, I expected more from my Gryffindors, you disappoint me. 5 points from Gryffindor." She said, to the protest of the scarlet part of the room. She then gave a tight smile to Keiran, "You displayed Gryffindor courage and loyalty Mr. Black. I award Slytherin 5 points." She ten turned and walked toward the blackboard.

Keiran blanched. Being compared to a Gryffindor was the worst type of humiliation the professor could have come up with. He sat down again, patting Violet on her shoulder. "Thanks." She mumbled. "But you didn't have to do that. I'm used to it."

"You are?"

She nodded as if it was the mot common thing in the world to be used to vulgar words said to her. "I get that a lot."

Keiran was speechless. Violet turned away from him, cuddling the pink puffskein in her arms. She looked defeated, and inside, she probably was. All this time she had been visualizing her as a bigheaded, stupid, spoiled brat. He definitely had not been expecting this withdrawn girl.

"Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall began her lesson, stern and strict. "Is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

She gave the evil eye to Brown who whimpered a little in her seat. Then she turned her desk into a pig and back again. Everybody but a handful of Slytherin's seemed to be impressed. The handful consisted of Draco, Theo, Daphne, a girl named Blaise, and himself. It was what Keiran could categorize as third-class magic. He'd been able to do that when he was seven. And when they'd been told that they weren't going to be doing that, he got even more disappointed. Turning a matchstick into a needle was such a basic skill that even some muggles were able to do it with enough concentration.

This really was getting ridiculous. But as he was told, and so was Draco, that he shouldn't attract attention to himself, he scanned the crowd to see if anybody had finished transfiguring their needle so he could begin with his. Being the first one to succeed could be counted as attracting attention. Unfortunately, no one had succeeded. These people really were pathetic.

Keiran spent the next several minutes waiting for someone, anyone, to get the spell right while he himself pretended to cast the spell though he put a plug on his magic whenever he did so. Finally, a bushy-haired Gryffindor managed to turn her matchstick into a needle and Keiran let out a sigh of relief. As Professor McGonagall was holding the needle up in the air and pointing out to everybody just how pointy, it was Keiran pointed his wand at the matchstick…and missed.

To his horror, and the shattering of all his hopes of not attracting any attention, his spell hit, not the slim form of the matchstick, but the desk it was on. And the desk changed into a needle that he only just managed to catch as his books and Violet's puffskein tumbled toward the ground with a high-pitched squeal. That was what these people called advanced magic and these people were all staring at him with their mouths hanging open. This was just about turning into a day he would curse forever.

"That was spectacular spell-casting, Mr. Black. Ten points to Slytherin for that wonderful demonstration." Professor McGonagall gushed, forgetting all about house rivalry. The bushy-haired witch glare told him that she promised that he would have a most painful death for stealing her spotlight. He grinned weakly at her. His father would not like this. Not at all.

Draco was actually smirking at him again. The nerve of the guy. If he didn't consider him his best friend, he would have become a pile of dung by now. The professor changed the needle back into a desk and smiled warmly at Keiran, something he knew she didn't do often, judging by the lines on her face. Oh great, he just managed to become the teachers favorite.

Lunch after that was thankfully, an uneventful time. Though Violet sitting down next to a Black and a Malfoy did raise a lot of eyebrows, but since the teachers were all sitting in the staff's table, nobody dared to make a move to antagonize her.

After lunch, they had their first Defense against the Dark Arts lesson. Keiran would have called it a dud had he not known that Quirrel was deliberately laying it on thick to ensure that the next generation of witches and wizards would have absolutely no way of defending themselves. It was ironic, the Dark Lord teaching the defense against the dark arts, and it was a thought that kept him in a good mood throughout the lesson.

He didn't bother listening to Quirrel's stuttering; instead, he pulled out his mother's letter. He hadn't gotten a chance to read it in Transfiguration because of McGonagall's expectant gaze in his direction, nor had he been able to do so during lunch because Violet was in close vicinity. But now, Violet sat two seats away from him, in between Draco and Blaise, a girl who she seemed to get along with. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to him as he had chosen one of the chairs at the back again, so he opened the letter and read:

_Dear Keiran,_

_Your dragonhide gloves are in the envelope. Didn't I tell you to pack everything a week early so you wouldn't leave anything? This is school equipment. I hope it didn't arrive too late for your first Herbology lesson. You, young man, would do better to listen to your mother than to spend your time frolicking in the wind on that broom of yours. I saw you yesterday. Flying at break-neck speeds again even when I told you not to. We only care for your safety Keiran. Don't do that ever again. If I see, you do that again you're never receiving anymore brooms as gifts. _

_Take care and say hi to your father for me,_

_Love, your Mother._

Very caring, Keiran thought. She never even asked about him once throughout the entire letter. Just nagging. Would it help if he told her that he was just trying to catch up with Hades because he had something to add to the letter he had sent the owl of with? No probably not. Absolutely ludicrous excuse that, even if it was partly true.

He took the gloves from the letter and put it in his bag. Then he turned the letter into ash. "Mr. Black!" Keiran suddenly straightened up as the loud voice of Quirrel rang in his ears. "Y-you're n-not paying attention. Stay after class." The poor attempt of the stuttering professor to be intimidating was hilarious. Keiran had to keep himself from laughing, but since it was all part of the plan and it was practically his idea for Quirrel to be a frightened buffoon most of the time, he had no one to blame but himself. Instead, he tried to look submissive, (as submissive as the next dark lord could possibly look) and answered with a simple: "Yes professor."

After the lesson, everybody filed out of the classroom, with Violet shooting him apologetic looks and Draco waving goodbye with an amused smirk. Once the door had shut, Quirrel began placing privacy wards around the place as Keiran went to sit on the teacher's desk.

Once the professor was done with putting up the wards, he began unraveling the turban again and before long, Keiran was looking once again into the crimson eyes of his father.

"It seems like you've been very busy this morning Keiran." Voldemort said with an amused smirk. Keiran glared at him and he continued on in a more serious tone, "McGonagall had been filling all our ears up on how much of a marvelous student you are; Turning the desk into a needle. Didn't I tell you to stay low-key?"

Keiran had the decency to look ashamed. "I just sort of, missed the matchstick…"

"Hit the desk instead." Voldemort finished the sentence, looking amused again. Contrary to popular belief, the Dark Lord did have feelings; he just didn't show it in the public or to his death eaters. It would hurt his image of unemotional cold evil Lord. Keiran was one of the few people who had actually seen Voldemort smile with real happiness, and laugh, just once, with mirth instead of malice.

"Yes, that was what happened." Keiran said quickly. Voldemort didn't seem to believe him but he didn't say more on the subject. "Indiscretion aside, it looks like you're doing quite well with the second mission I assigned to you."

"Yes father, I dare say it is going too well. Potter is sticking to me like glue." Keiran said distastefully. "Kiara sent me a puffskein under the guise of a letter earlier and to get rid of it I had it look like it was a gift to her. It reinforces our 'friendship' somewhat."

"Good." Voldemort said, "Now go, before anybody gets suspicious."

Keiran was just stepping out of the door when Quirrel, with a newly wrapped turban on his head called out to him. "D-detention, Mr. Black. Ten o' clock tomorrow in my office."

"Yes sir." Keiran intoned.

Then he left with a smirk on his young handsome face.

**Living s Lie**

"You are all here," Flint announced. "For the cerimonia di accettazione." He gestured toward his left and a great stone statue of a snake curled on top of a Grecian looking podium came floating into the room. The emerald-eyed snake regarded them all hissing softly.

"_**Another group of first years I see. I reckon I should be grateful that their taking me out again. Need somebody to talk too. Things are getting lonely after a thousand years of living. Sometimes makes me wish I wasn't immortal." **_Keiran heard the distinctly feminine voice of the snake say. She was rambling, an example of what a millennia of isolation could do to a person…ah, snake.

He would have to talk to the snake later, maybe introduce it to Sarah, but not now. He'd done too many blunders today and he would not include letting everybody know that he was a parselmouth in his list of mistakes for today.

They were called in alphabetical order toward the snake while all the Slytherins from the other years watched on, whispering to each other. Keiran was the first to be called forward and since bad luck seemed to favor him today, instead of the customary nod that the snake was supposed to deliver to him, the snake took one look at him and gave a low bow, causing everybody in the room to gasp. And if the attention that the bow garnered wasn't enough, the snake found it prudent to slither down the podium, something nobody had ever seen it do, and climb up him, finally coming to rest on his shoulder, nuzzling his hair.

"I guess he likes me." He said lamely at the rooms puzzled looks.

"_**Please get off me. I'll come talk to you soon, I promise."**_ Keiran whispered out of the corner of his mouth. The snake nodded and slid of him, returning to the podium with bit of regret. Nobody noticed the exchange, so before anything else out of the ordinary happened to him, Keiran went over to sit next to Draco.

"That was wicked Keiran." Draco told him. "What a way to blow off the plan."

"Shut it."

Draco chuckled and they watched together as the ceremony continued. Everything went on normally from then on. The snake nodded to each student it was presented with and no bows or any of that sort happened.

"Has the snake ever rejected anybody before?" Keiran asked Theo, the group's bookworm, who was more likely to know the answer than the others.

"Once, Theo said, "But that was a long time ago. Nobody knew what happened to the guy afterwards. He disappeared. I reckon the other Slytherins got rid of him. I think he was a mudblood." Then he was called off and Draco sank down to take his place, having had the snake nod to him as well.

"Did you hear what the people are saying?" Draco asked immediately.

"No," Keiran shook his head, that was when he noticed that everybody was whispering to each other and glaring at one red-headed girl who was too busy cooing at Kei the puffskein to see all the hostile looks. "What?" he asked, as if it wasn't obvious yet, but he needed confirmation.

"They think that it was about time the snake rejected someone again. No need asking who the person they hope will be rejected is. The Draco drawled, eyeing Violet with his pale gray eyes. "Might help your spying if you protect her against those guys huh. Make you two closer."

"Yeah."

"Just make sure it stays in the spying division and not into the genuine friendship one."

"What? Are you jealous Drake? Don't worry; she isn't replacing you as my best friend. Though I might consider it, the look on your face would priceless." Keiran smirked.

"Shut it."

"I remember me telling you to shut it Draco. Have you lost your flair for great comebacks? Being redundant." Keiran shook his head in pity, and before he knew it, Draco had tackled him the ground and they were wrestling with each other. Later, they surfaced from the floor sporting a few new bruises and swept away hairstyles, catching their breath just in time to see Violet Potter, with the puffskein sitting on her shoulder, step in front of the snake.

Keiran, who was just then gulping down a large amount of air, stopped breathing. His face turned purple but he didn't notice this. He was too caught up in the moment as both pairs of emerald-green eyes regarded each other. Keiran didn't know why whether Violet was accepted or rejected mattered to him so much. Before, he wouldn't have cared, but ever since he met her, there was this just a part of him that told him that he should care, that she should matter, he just didn't know why.

After a few tense moments, the snake finally nodded to her. Keiran released the breath he had been holding and everybody in the room either looked amazed or irritated. Violet walked over to them, and smiled at their tousled appearance.

"What have you two been doing?" she asked.

"He started it!" both Draco and Keiran said at the same time, pointing at each other. Then they both burst out laughing when they saw what they had done.

_**A/N:**_ this was supposed to include the arrival of Sarah, the first flying lesson but then it got too long, and well, there you go.


	5. A Letter from him

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer-I doubt any of you would believe me if I said that I was Rowling so I won't say that. This isn't mine. Just how terrible is that?**

**A/N: To clear a few things, the only people who know that Voldemort is Keiran's father are the Malfoys, and Keiran's family, and the only people who know that Keiran is actually Harry are Voldemort, Lucius and Bellatrix, and just recently, Keelan/ Keelan(see the ***Read this)**)**

As some of you may have noticed, I don't like making Harry/Keiran's life very easy. Accidents happen and not everything turns out quite as well as he hopes they would. Murphy's Law comes into play in this story but you just shouldn't worry. Good things happen too. (Evil grin)

\

Nxkris: I originally planned for him to find out in his fifth year but it was too close to the canon plot and the wait is waaay too long so I don't like it anymore. (That sounds childish) So I'm not sure, but if I don't come up with a better plot, he's finding out about his real identity in fifth year. And about the Dursleys, well they take better care of Violet than they did Harry because they're afraid of James. But bad things are going to happen in relation to her being a girl.

***READ THIS: for the record, I'm changing Keelan's name into Keelan, which was supposed to be his first name in the first place! **(I'd be going back to former chapters and replacing that_)

I posted a lot of things about myself in my profile recently so read up if you want to get to know me(basically, I answered the quizzes on blogthings and posted my results on my profile). I've opened up a blog with my co-writer in this site at wordpress, problem is, I've forgotten what the name of the blog is so I'll just post it next time I put up a chapter, I'll be posting background information on my stories there, interviews on my characters etc. etc.

**Living a Lie**

_"Noooo!" the mudblood screamed behind him. Voldemort turned to see that the redhead was back on her feet, panting heavily while Bellatrix was lying on her side, groaning. The mudblood had Bellatrix's wand in her hand. Voldemort looked at her in obvious amusement, he lifted his eyebrow in contempt. The wand in her hand didn't at all faze HIM nor by the fierce look, she was giving him. She was a mudblood, she amounted to nothing._

_"Get away from my babies!" she screamed, throwing a stunner at his head. He moved aside at the last moment. "What was that? A stray gust of wind I believe?" Voldemort commented tauntingly as Lily sent more spells toward him, making sure that they were all aimed at his head and nowhere else as she feared hitting her children. A disadvantage at its best as a head wasn't a very big target. _

_After a few moments of dodging, Voldemort stopped, narrowing his eyes: "I have no time for this." He said. Lily was surprised by the sudden change of his demeanor, so surprised that she didn't have time to dodge when he sent a cruciatus curse her way and she fell to the floor again, screaming. Bellatrix pushed herself away from the ground, apologized for being careless, and took to beating Lily brutally with her recovered wand. Voldemort didn't bother to lift the curse as he turned back to contemplate which of the two babies should he kill first._

_Imagine his surprise that when he had turned to face the children again, the dark-haired one was standing in front of his sister, though his legs were wobbly his glare was steady, his arms were thrown out, as if he was blocking his sister from view. His emerald eyes pierced him, challenging him to react. Voldemort could see the power behind those eyes and for a moment, he regretted that he had to end the life of this boy. He had the potential to be greater than even Dumbledore himself. But that was also the reason why he had to get rid of him. _

_"So you decided to volunteer did you Harry?" Voldemort said, smirking down at the boy._

_"Bad Baldy." The little boy yelled at the top of his lungs, taking him by surprise, Voldemort's eyes narrowed at the little nickname that Harry used. "Go away!"_

_"Why you little…Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shrieked._

_The green light flew toward the little boy but he didn't move out of its way. He just stood in his place, unmovable and defiant. Voldemort watched in contentment as the curse hit Harry directly on his forehead and it went right into him. The little boy toppled over, his little frown disappearing from his face and his once emerald green gaze staring blankly up at the ceiling._

_"HARRY!"_

**Living a Lie**

Waking up a Malfoy was not the easiest task that Keiran had ever had to accomplish. Sure, he had once killed a vampire; that was easy, he'd also once raided Gringotts when he was nine, that was hard, but Draco was such a heavy sleeper; that made things difficult. He also had a bunch of deathly spells on his arsenal. He was known to use these on house elves whenever he was woken up when he did not want to. Thankfully, he hadn't used any on them on Keiran, yet.

"Hey, wake up!" Keiran said tiredly, shaking the blonde pureblood. Draco moaned and turned away from Keiran, pulling the covers over his head as he did so.

"Honestly, if you're not going to wake up now, I'm leaving! You're father wouldn't be too pleased with that would he? Seeing your reaction yesterday…" Keiran trailed off, looking hopefully at Draco's sleeping form, but his words garnered no reaction. Keiran sighed, he started walking toward the door, muttering under his breath: "My father wouldn't like it too, but it's okay with me, I don't fancy having somebody dogging me."

His last words took effect. Draco suddenly sat up bold-upright in his bed. Breathing heavily. "Wait!" he yelled, causing many in the dorm to moan in protest but nobody woke up. Draco scrambled off the bed and slid into his fancy silk slippers. "I'm awake. I'm awake." He said, blinking the sleep away from his eyes quickly.

"Good." Keiran smiled. "Go wash yourself and meet me in the common room." He ordered, and then he left the room. There he sank in a high-backed chair, the one he's already claimed his in the two nights that he's spent in Hogwarts. The fire in the grate had been relit and he stared impatiently into the flames. He didn't have to wait long though, Draco hurtled into the common room, his platinum blonde hair still dripping wet, and two bags in his hands. He was scowling heavily at the raven-haired boy.

"I originally wouldn't have minded following you around as that is what we always do back at home, but, will you please tell my why you have to be awake at four in the morning?" he whined.

"We're continuing the training sessions." Keiran replied, taking his bag from Draco's hand and leading the way out of the common room door, errr, wall. "And when we get back for the Christmas holidays, I'm going to wipe Kiara on the floor." He then grinned his famous vampire grin.

"Fine." Draco huffed; he also had a small rivalry with Kiara going on. "Where are we going to spar? I don't think you'd want Dumbledore to know that you train."

"Of course not, we're going to the room Father told me about." Keiran said.

"Which one?"

"The one in front of Barnabas the Barmys tapestry, if I remember correctly, Father said it transforms into anything you want it to be. But don't go telling anybody that."

They stayed silent as they walked silently through the still dark halls. Being careful not to make any unnecessary noises. Nobody had told them if they were allowed out in the hours before dawn. Curfew held during the night but not during the morning, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

"Why don't we just flame there?" Draco asked tiredly as they climbed the third set of stairs so far

Keiran saw another pretty way to antagonize his rival/best friend and he happily took it: "Why Draco? Are your pampered legs getting tired already?" he said in the baby voice he had often heard his mother use while torturing muggles, a scene he didn't see very often, but often enough. When Draco glared at him, Keiran chuckled darkly, irritating Draco was so easy, said blonde shot him a scathing look. "I figured that since we were headed to training, we needed a few stretches. This is what I call exercise. Just be thankful that we're not jogging there, seven floors up, than walking like this. Actually, I think that's a great idea. Starting tomorrow, we're jogging there." Keiran said brightly.

Draco groaned in response.

Soon they had arrived at the room they were looking for and Draco stood by crossly as Keiran paced in front of the stretch of blank wall. Draco was only a little surprised when the door appeared but shrug it off. The two boys entered the room and the door disappeared behind them.

"Before we begin," Draco said, disregarding the fact that they had entered what seemed to be a paradise with acres of fields, a forest, a swimming pool of the side and a two-story building off the side he was too used to magic to try to fathom how such a thing had happened when they were on the seventh floor of a castle. "I'm telling you now. I'm not joining in your charade."

"What charade are you talking about? I keep up a lot of them." Keiran replied in wry humor.

"Your friendship with Potter, just because I'm your best friend doesn't mean I have to pretend to be hers too. I'm not going to be friendly with any half-blood. "Draco warned.

"Lucky you." Keiran sighed, dropping his bag under a tree. "You get to NOT be her friend. I have no choice."

Draco smirked at him, and then he took on a fighting stance. "Let's work off some of your anger, shall we?" he said, beckoning to Keiran with one hand. He had trained along with Keiran ever since they had been able to walk and talk, he wasn't any better than Keiran on fighting physically, they were on par so it was basically a stalemate whenever they sparred.

"You'll wish you never said that." Keiran replied, with a dark grin.

"Try me." Was the resolute answer.

**Living a Lie**

Seven tiring hours later, the sweaty two trudged back to the dungeons to enjoy a nice refreshing shower and held a race to the great hall, Keiran won of course, having trained his entire life. Draco pouted at his loss and began spouting off nonsense about how childish it was that they were still raced against each other at that age.

Keiran silently agreed with him but he didn't say so. It was childish, but that was exactly why he agreed to these things, they were childish, and they were exactly what he needed, cover. Who would suspect somebody who challenged his friends to spontaneous races a son of a dark lord? Nobody in their right mind would come up with him as his first option. Besides, he couldn't say that it wasn't fun.

Keiran was quite surprised to see that Violet was already at the Slytherin table; she was talking with the usually subdued Theo and seemed to be enjoying their conversation quite well. Seized with an unreasonable desire to bring Violets gaze away from Theo's, he slid in the bench across from her and gave her the most charming smile he could manage. It was silent, but effective. He was satisfied to see her flush, which flush was immediately replaced by a blank bloodless expression when a rather handsome barn owl dropped a letter on her lap.

He honestly couldn't see why she would fear such a letter, it wasn't a howler, it was just an ordinary letter in a white envelope, but her hands shook as she picked it up and ripped the top open. Drawn toward her peculiar behavior, he ignored the light bantering of Theo and Draco and observed as she slid the letter open and began to read. He picked up that she was a fast reader, by the way her eyes were moving quickly across the lines on the parchment. She bit her lip as the letter went on and at one part; she had looked like she had come close to tears. Keiran was extremely curious about who the letter was from but he didn't think it was too proper to ask her about such personal things when they'd just met. So he just offered her a supporting smile once she was done reading the parchment, crumpling it in her hands.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern when he noticed that her emerald eyes had gone misty with suppressed tears.

"I'm fine." Violet said shakily, blinking her tears away. "It's just, _him._" She said 'him' in a mixture of equal amounts vehemence and sadness that Keiran didn't understand it at all.

"Who's him?" he inquired softly, hoping that he wasn't pushing their newfound 'friendship' too hard.

"Dad." She said, Keiran raised his eyebrow in response and was about to ask her to say more about the subject but she didn't need any of his prompting. "HE doesn't think it's proper for a Potter to become a Slytherin." She said this part sadly, and then suddenly her face twisted into one of hatred, "Of course if my dear brother was alive he would have been in Gryffindor."

She looked down and began to tear the letter to pieces and watched them flutter, away. Keiran could see that a one lone tear was on her pale cheek and he wanted to wipe it way and the same time, he felt quite happy that she was sad. _She deserves it, _the sadistic part of him said; _she deserves it for making your Father hurt._ She wiped the tear away with one hand once she was done tearing the parchment up and she whispered a few words that Keiran barely heard, but he heard them anyway.

"The problem is…I'm not Harry."

And for some reason, the words wrenched at his heart.

**Living a Lie**

Keiran was running a temper when he entered Quirrel's office at precisely ten o'clock for his detention. Today had been as horrible as the other day had been and he definitely couldn't wait until their mission here was done. This place truly was unbearable. It didn't help that today had been his first Potion's lesson, and of all houses, it had to be taken with Gryffindors!

So they'd spent the entire two hours avoiding the glares coming from the red-colored part of the room, most of which were directed at the bowed head of the girl sitting next to Keiran, Violet. She had been subdued most of the day, except during Herbology when he had swept his hair up with his hand because of the heat and because of the sweat, the hair clung on to the upper part of his head, causing his forehead to be exposed.

"Keiran, what happened to you?" Violet had exclaimed in alarm, dropping her trowel and cupping his face so that she could see the cut more clearly. "Did one of those evil plants get you?"

"No." Keiran said quickly, shaking her hands off and turning away. He shook his head so that his bangs fell back over the scar he always hid. "I've had that scar since I was a baby. It's nothing to worry about, it's fully healed. "He assured her, giving her one of his patented believe-me-I'm-not-lying smiles.

"Oh, but looked so raw and fresh!" Violet had said in concern, "and it has such a curious shape."

"It's just a scar, Vi," he said, hoping that the use of her new nickname would be good enough to distract her from worrying over him again. He hated it to much. Curse his lightning scar for all the attention it got. Thankfully, Professor had chosen that moment to come over and tell them off for dilly dawdling in her class, and once again, they had set off to work.

Thankfully, they had their afternoons off for Fridays and Keiran had looked forward for his afternoon of relaxation. However, Violet had ruined that little fantasy of his by inviting him along to have tea with that oaf of a groundskeeper, Hagrid. And what was Keiran to do but accept? So he had spent his afternoon having tea with a half-breed who laughed to loud and regarded him with suspicious looks and a half-blood who he hated with his entire heart but had to befriend.

Tch, it was a good thing Sarah was being returned to him tomorrow. If he didn't have at least that to look forward too, he would have gone mad by now. With this last happy thought in mind, he stepped in his fathers/professors office, promptly tumbled out of an oncoming sickly yellow curse, and slid out his extra wand from its holster, while using one of the large chairs by the fire as cover. Without waiting for his attacker to collect himself, Keiran jumped up from behind the armchair, fired a barrage of spells from the Incendio to the killing curse, and dived behind a battered cupboard again before his attacker had a chance to retaliate.

Keiran then turned into his phoenix form and flamed right behind where he estimated his attacker to be and wasn't at all surprised when he found out that it was merely Quirrel, or rather his father using Quirrel's body, who was attacking him. Somehow, his father had found a way to make his face turn the right way up, causing Quirrels own frightened and quite pained visage to be the one facing the back. Ouch, Keiran winced, that must've hurt. Shaking his head in amusement, he cast a simple petrificus totalus that hit Quirrel clean in between the shoulder blades and sent him toppling down to the floor.

"That was quite unexpected, Father." Keiran said, appearing from the shadows with a smirk. He was already tucking his extra wand back in its holster. He watched as his father shook himself out of the Petrifying charm on his own. Voldemort looked at Keiran with pride.

"I am proud of you son." He said, causing Keiran's heart to inflate. "Though I am quite sure I would have defeated you fair and square if I didn't have to use such a pitiful body." He quipped, causing Keiran to scowl.

"Why did you suddenly decide to attack me, Father?" Keiran asked instead, deliberately ignoring the jab to his skills.

"I was bored." The bald man shrugged. He chuckled at his son's expression and motioned for his son to transform. "To business then?" he inquired.

Keiran obliged and transformed into his phoenix form and then turned around and offered his tail feathers for his father to grab on. And once his father had grabbed on one, he flamed them away, directly in front of one forbidden door leading to the third floor corridor.

"Why can't we just flame into the place?" Keiran asked in irritation once he had returned to his human form. He watched his father reach toward the door, and promptly snatched his hand away with an outraged hiss.

"Because there are special wards around this area. I don't know what would happen if we managed to trip them the unconventional way." Voldemort hissed, his hand clutched against his chest, but Keiran could see that the burn there was already healing so he wasn't concerned at all.

"Why don't we try it then? Couldn't hurt." Keiran replied, closing his eyes to begin his transformation, but Voldemort grabbed his shoulders before he could.

"No!" he hissed, snatching his hand up again for he had forgotten that he had gotten it injured and he had pressed it hard against Keiran's shoulders. "I'd rather not risk it. Anything could happen."

Keiran nodded reluctantly. "So," he said, turning to the door. "What do we do now?"

"Through this door, as I've told you before, (A/N: hey that rhymes) is a Cerberus. Keelan has done some research and he's told us that we can make the dog go to sleep after playing a bit of music. That part is easy enough, but we've only gone that far. Let's try to go as far as we can go this night," Voldemort explained, Keiran raised his hand to blast the door away with magical power but Voldemort grabbed his hand, "without leaving any traces." He said as an after thought.

"Okay then," Keiran said, "Let's go."

**Living a Lie**

**A/N:** This was originally going to be longer but my Mom begged me off the laptop, because I still have to wake up tomorrow for this writing seminar thingies. Gah, who knew there was this bad side to always being invited to these things?

I'm still not done with the history lesson for you guys about what happened that Halloween night. Never knew it was going to take that long!


	6. The Accident

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer-I doubt any of you would believe me if I said that I was Rowling so I won't say that. This isn't mine. Just how terrible is that?**

**A/N: To clear a few things, the only people who know that Voldemort is Keiran's father are the Malfoys, and Keiran's family, and the only people who know that Keiran is actually Harry are Voldemort, Lucius and Bellatrix, and just recently, Keith/ Keelan(see the ***Read this)**)**

Steph: the twins actually will see his name on the map, but that's not going to happen yet.

***READ THIS: for the record, I'm changing Keith's name into Keelan, which was supposed to be his first name in the first place! **(I'd be going back to former chapters and replacing that)

A/N: Vote on my poll for who you want Harry/Keiran to end up with!

Results so far:

Violet-7

Daphne-3

Susan-3

Tracey-2

Hermione, Luna, Draco, Pansy, Hannah, Padma, O/C-1

**Living a Lie**

_Lily had once again broken against the cruciatus curse and was scrabbling to get to her lifeless sons body, tears and blood ran together though her dirty face as she tried to heave herself off the floor but Bellatrix pulled her back to the ground and Voldemort ruthlessly kicked the boys body aside. Lily Potter once again succumbed to the screams that the torture curse, except this time the screaming was more painful to hear; because the pain wasn't entirely from the terrible nerve-on-fire feeling the curse gave, it was a scream of helplessness and loss._

_"Only one little obstacle left." Voldemort sneered down at the little red-haired girl who stared at him through wide green eyes. She was yet to cry, but her eyes held fear, and Voldemort reveled in it. "Goodbye, little one!" he said, and leveled his wand straight at the little girls' heart._

_Unnoticed by any of those in the room, as Voldemort said the first words after uttering the killing curse, the little body kicked to the corner of the room began to move. His eyelids flickered, and then they opened to reveal an even more intense green than before, one radiating of power. Little Harry weakly raised himself off the ground with his tiny hands, but only managing to lift himself a few inches, he lifted his head just in time to catch sight off Voldemort sending a pretty green light at his sister; The same green light that had hit him moments ago, the one that had hurt so much. _

_He couldn't wish that pain on his sister, so he reached inside himself, into the pool that he had felt surround his heart when the light had hit and drew out a bubble of light, one white and pure. Hoping that the bubble could help his sister, he heaved it at Violet and watched as it enveloped her in a pearly-white glow just as the curse hit. The white glow formed like an armor and caused the curse to bounce right back at the caster and with an unearthly scream, Voldemort was cast out of his body as Bellatrix could only watch on in horror, still unaware of the little boy watching from the corner of the room, thinking him dead._

_Voldemort's body crumpled to dust and his robes fell in a messy pile directly in front of Violet, and with a terrible wrench, Voldemort's soul, a dark and cloudy specter, split into two and floated to the ceiling. One fled, screaming and scratching its eyes out as it went zooming out into the dark night sky. The other one was tiny, the size of a little boy, and it looked like one too, and it looked around the room with hollow, red eyes and spotted Violet. It approached her and attempted to reach out to touch her, Violet began screaming and crying at the sight of him, the stress of the night finally getting to her, but he wasn't able to touch her. The white shield impeded his approach._

_By then, the little specter spied Harry moving in the corner, and without warning, he dived into the boys body, successfully melting into it as the boy once again screamed in pain as his soul was invaded and he fought the foreign presence but he was already tired and his body ached all over so he just allowed himself to be pulled into a restless darkness._

_Bellatrix watched all of this in a mix of horror and bewilderment. How could the child still have been alive? And was that the dark lord's soul which entered him? Her absence of presence of mind allowed Lily to once again break free of the curse and this time, she succeeded in getting away from Bellatrix long enough to grab Violet, hug her and prepare to run out of the room before Bellatrix got tired of her wild, fruitless attempts and sent a body-bind at her. She watched in satisfaction as the red-haired mudblood dropped like a stone._

_Bellatrix then walked over to the unconscious Potter boy after shushing the little baby in the sling on her back (who had finally waken up through all the commotion), she checked his pulse and was shocked to find that he was indeed still alive, just as the Potter girl was. It was interesting, she went back and sent a tickling charm at Violet to see what the reaction would be and wasn't at all surprised that the spell rebounded and she ducked in time to miss it. _

_Realizing that attacking the Potter brat wouldn't work today, she turned to Harry and suddenly remembered something Voldemort had told her. Horcruxes. She lifted the boy and searched for any opening in his skin and found one right on his forehead, a curious cut in the shape of a lightning bolt, she performed a detection charm on him and was shocked to see just how much dark magic surrounded the tiny cut. He was a horcrux, no doubt about it._

_She hugged the boy to her chest and made a decision. She turned and cast a curse of insanity on the stiff form of Lily and only waited long enough to see the light of insanity spark in Lily's eyes before she turned and disappeared. Leaving behind one red-haired wailing girl._

And in the present, another red-haired female began to wail. She sat on a wheelchair facing a large window facing the wonderful cloud-free turquoise sky, her copper red hair had traces of grey every now and then though she was still considerably young, her green eyes stared uncomprehendingly on the horizon as she opened her mouth and let out another sob as she clutched a small misshapen stuffed toy to her chest.

A house elf stood by the wheel chair, a frightened expression on her pinched face. She was a new elf and she had no idea how to deal with her Mistress' tantrums.

"Mistress! Kit begs Mistress to calm down!" the little one squeaked, holding her fist to her mouth.

But the woman continued to shriek and scream as if she was in terrible pain, though there was nothing there. Soon enough, a dark-haired bespectacled man ran through the halls and came to kneel down in front of the woman. His eyebrows were knitted in concern and his eyes showed of love, yet you could see it too, in the corner of his eyes and in the strained way that he smiled, this was taking a toll on him.

"Lily dear, it's okay, I'm here I'm here." He said, taking her head in his hands and caressing one of her cheeks with his thumb.

Lily stopped screaming and looked blankly at him for a long time as he looked hopefully at her, it took a while, but soon a spark of recognition did flash in her eyes and her battered voice croaked: "James?"

The man smiled bitterly at her, "Hush Lily, you might hurt your throat." He said in a soothing voice, as he tucked some of the stray hair strands behind her ear.

"But James," Lily protested, opening her fist to reveal once again the misshapen black stuffed dog she held there. "Harry needs his favorite toy. You know he can't sleep well without it."

"I know Lily," James choked, tears filled his hazel eyes, he placed his hands over the toy that Lily held, "Don't worry we will give it to Harry."

Lily smiled then, a radiant smile, the one James had fallen in love with the first time that he saw her, but then she winced in pain and a her eyes lost their brightness like a shroud had been drawn over them and she stared over his shoulder as if she was watching something there, James watched helplessly as a look of horror formed on Lily's features and she began to scream once again. The stuff toy dropped to the ground with a soft thud.

Unable to help her, James felt so worthless, useless, so he just hugged her and cradled her body in arms, unmindful of the loud screams that hit his ear. He began to cry himself as Lily continued to convulse and scream in his arms and all he could do was hold her. Soon enough the screams had subsided and Lily burrowed her face in the crook of James neck.

"James?" she murmured after a few minutes of silence.

James fought to control his voice then answered, "Yes Lily-flower?"

"Is Harry happy?"

James shut his eyes against the tears that threatened to overflow once again, and he hugged Lily tighter to him, savoring the few moments that she was less insane than she always was.

"Yes," he said with conviction, "He is."

**Living a Lie**

Keiran was not happy. His little expedition with his father had only been up to a plant Voldemort had called Devils snare. Beyond that had been a large ward that caused anything that passed by it to smolder into ashes. They hadn't been able to figure out how to get past it yet and Keiran was getting impatient. The faster they could leave this place the better, he said.

Now it was Thursday, it was his first flying lesson and of all the people he could have it with, it was with those insufferable lions. They were utterly obnoxious and they didn't waste a moment of glaring at Violet. Now usually he wouldn't have minded other people glaring at her, but as they seemed attached at the hip nowadays it had become downright irritating. Add to that the unpleasantly pink puffskein that was always sitting on Violet's shoulder. When Sarah, Keiran's personal black mamba, had been returned to him last Saturday he had promptly introduced her to the fluffy inconvenience in hopes that she would just gobble the pink puff up, but to his horror, they had actually become very good friends. It was sickening.

In fact they were together now. Kei the puffskein and Sarah the black mamba were currently spending time together in the Slytherin common room as their masters headed off to the Quidditch Pitch, having chosen to stay on the safe sturdy ground, thank you very much.

Violet was once again clinging to his arm; Or rather, staring at his arm as if she wanted to cling on it to steady herself. According to her, she had never ridden on a broom before, she'd never had one. Draco was flabbergasted at the thought of never having owned a broom and he promptly forgot about his oath to never make friends with a half-blood as he proclaimed that he would buy her the best broom in the market just so she could experience how it was to really fly. To this Violet had shaken her head, white-faced as she bit her lip.

"Why are you so afraid of flying?" Keiran asked her as they strolled at a leisurely pace towards the Quidditch Pitch.

"I'm not good enough to fly." She stated matter-of-factly.

Keiran raised his eyebrows at her answer. He really tended to do that frequently when he's around her. "What do you mean you're not good enough?" he asked.

"Harry had always been the better flyer." Violet confessed, "He zoomed around the house on a toy broomstick on our first birthday like he was born on it."

Keiran shook his head. "But, how about you, Vi? How good are you are flying?"

"Compared to Harry I'm just mediocre."

"I'm not asking you about how good Harry is. I'm asking you about yourself!" Keiran said with a hint of irritation. "Tell me how good are YOU, just you."

"Me?" Violet asked as if somebody asking about her was the most absurd thing in the world. Keiran compared her behavior to one of a severely battered house elf. Take Dobby for example, Draco had worn the poor elf dry and he was nothing more than a gibbering wreck now, unaware of what self-worth even was.

"Yes." Keiran sighed. "You."

"Well," Violet said, quite unsure of what she was going to say, "I think I'm decent."

"That was the answer I was waiting for." Keiran nodded in approval.

Violet gave him one of her rare small smiled, but all too soon they had reached the Quidditch stands and her pale as a sheet face returned upon spotting all the Gryffindors already there, all of their gazes were on her and they were all filled with loathing. Violet went to hide behind Keiran with a feeble whimper which sounded like the word 'why.'

"Just ignore them." Theo advised helpfully when he brushed past Violet to stand next to a broom.

Violet nodded balefully at him and copied his actions, she stood next to the broom I between Keiran and Theo with her head bowed to the ground so as not to see the glares directed at her.

Madam hooch suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said in a sharp voice: "Place your hands above your brooms and say 'up!'"

This proclamation was followed by a chorus of people saying "Up!" Keiran smirked when his broom shot to his hand at his first try. Violets took two tries before it floated to her hand. He had to hold down snickers when one red-haired Gryffindor (Rupert? Reggie?) called to his broom a little more forcefully than usual. This caused his broom to ricochet up and hit him square on the face. Said boy fell to the ground with a loud oomph and the broom fell on him once again. His ears turned red in embarrassment.

After everybody had gotten their broom to zoom to their hand, Madam Hooch began correcting grips and adjusting brooms among their ranks. She didn't have to fix anything with him. She just took one look at his position and gave hi a warm smile of approval.

"Okay, when I blow this whistle," She said to the class when everybody had a good grasp on their brooms. "You will push off the ground, rise a few feet and then touch back down. Is that clear?" there were murmurs of assent and without further ado Madam Hooch blew her silver whistle.

There weren't any further mishaps during that class. Keiran was quite surprised when he happened to glance to his right to see Violet smiling quite brightly while hovering three feet above the ground. When Madam Hooch called for a free flying period for all of them he flew to her with a smile.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked.

In answer to his question, she encircled him twice, then with a whoop, zoomed away, her red hair fluttering behind her as she urged her broom on. Keiran took on it as a challenge and chased after her. He quickly found out that she wasn't just decent, as she had told him. She was a great flyer, and he liked the challenge. They weaved in and out of their classmates as they both tried to outswerve and outfly the other. On one part of their lively game, they started at one end of the Quidditch pitch and raced each other to the goal posts at the other end. They were pretty much neck to neck until there was a crunch and a loud scream and later on Keiran was looking in horror as Violet fell down from her broom and plummeted down to the ground.

"Vi!" he shouted and zoomed down as quickly as he could, he raced against time as he urged his broom to go faster. Thankfully, he had managed to catch Violet in his arms just as she was just a few seconds away from becoming pulp on the ground.

She wrapped her hands around his neck and began to sob on his chest as he shakily directed his broom to firm ground. Once he got there, consciousness of his surroundings had returned and he realized that people were shouting around him. The Slytherins were running over to them, shouting questions about their wellbeing while Madam Hooch screamed at the red-haired boy.

Keiran helped Violet stand on the ground though he was pretty shaky himself. "Are you alright?" he asked her, genuine concern in his voice. Gulping down air, she gave a shaky nod. Then, a loud voice permeated through the chaos.

"KEIRAN EREBUS BLACK!"

**Living a Lie**

A/N: it is my quarter exams next week, and then we have classes everyday until next next Saturday. Gah!

Please review!


	7. Unexpected Encounters

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer-NOOOOO!!!! It's mine I tell you! MINE! (huffs) fine it isn't (begins to cry softly)**

**A/N: I am so sorry for the late update! My little sister has been hogging the laptop, watching anime on it and playing restaurant city on facebook, so I never get time to write anymore, waaaa.**

**This is unbetaed, as I do not have a beta at all. Gwah, sory for any mistakes I might have made!**

**Living A Lie**

"KEIRAN EREBUS BLACK!"

Keiran barely managed to stifle a wince at the enraged shout from the potions master who was descending upon them in a fit of fury. Keiran quickly released Violet's pale hand and turned to smile sheepishly at the paler than usual Severus Snape.

"Do you have any sense left in that miniscule brain of yours or has it been blown out of your ear because of your reckless flying?!" Snape roared, causing most of the surrounding students to stare at the pair in disbelief. It was practically unheard of for the Slytherin head of house to unleash his fury on anyone of his precious snakes.

"Now, Severus, that is uncalled for…" Madam Hooch began to protest but Keiran cut her off quickly.

"There's no need to fret, Uncle Sev." He said to the gasps and major disbelief of everybody present with the exception of three amused looking Slytherins who stood by the sidelines. "As you can see," Keiran said, lifting his arms slightly from his sides, "I'm in one piece and perfectly safe. No harm done."

"Never do that again." Severus warned, and then he turned to the flushing Weasley, to Keiran's extreme satisfaction which he didn't understand at all, and began to speak with him with a simmering anger which in Keiran's opinion, was far worse than Snape's shouting. "What have you got to say for yourself Mr. Weasley?" Snape demanded.

"I-I didn't see her and…"The hapless boy began.

"Nonsense." It was Madam Hooch that interrupted this time, with a scary look in her hawk-life eyes. "Do you not think that the staff would have heard of all the bragging you've been subjecting your housemates too? You've been riding brooms since childhood and it would do more than a simple 'lapse of judgement' for you to hit another person head on without it being deliberate." Weasley grimaced but didn't make any move to disapprove her statement. "50 points from Gryffindor and fifty points to Slytherin, for Mr. Black's quick thinking and superb flying skills."

The resulting uproar was so loud and wild that it didn't take much effort from Snape to pull Keiran out of the crowd and into a deserted corridor.

"Your mother is going to kill me when she finds out about this." Snapegrowled.

Keiran only smiled cheekily about this, "She wouldn't. She's used to me sneaking out to fly around the Manor, she can't complain because I always bring Draco with me."

"Your father wouldn't be too pleased either."

It took a moment for Keiran to fully realize what Snape was talking about. To anyone outside the Black and Malfoy families, Voldemort wasn't his father, to the outside world it was…

"Rodolphus is in my office at the moment, he anticipates to see his eldest child." Snape said, pushing Keiran gently toward the dungeons.

"Tch, he can't comprehend the words 'stay away' now could he?" Keiran sneered, though he allowed Snape to lead the way, his hands tightened around the low-class broomstick he still held.

"You can't fault a man for wanting to see his son."

"And you can't fault a son for not wanting to see his adulterous father." Keiran snapped back.

"There still isn't proof enough of that." Severus said, though he immediately regretted it at Keiran's enraged look, so he quickly changed the subject, "You know he is saddened that you have stopped using his name."

"So?" Keiran asked, quickly growing weary of the conversation, "Lestrange isn't a very powerful or rich family, the Blacks on the other hand, are noble and pure."

Snape didn't say any more about the subject, for this Keiran was extremely thankful. It was a great thing that lying and manipulation was one of his forte's but at times like this, when he was forced to fabricate emotions and hold up make-believe stories, you just had to get sick of it. This probably was one of the reasons why his father ordered him to befriend Violet. He was probably the only one among the siblings who could keep up such a charade. Kiara was far too fiery, her emotions controlled her too much, just like her mother. Keelan, on the other hand, was the exact opposite, cold and stand-offish and terribly anti-social. Keiran sighed.

"Please just try to be civil to him. He still is your father after all." Snape's voice broke him out of his musings and he realized with a start that they were already outside Snape's office. Keiran scowled at him and then stopped and slowly shook his head, if only the man knew the truth.

Without any reply, Keiran pushed past Snape and wearily entered the man's office. He noted the dark-haired man silhouetted against the blazing hearth but ignored him. Rodolphus hadn't noticed him yet, so Keiran swiftly sat himself down on a plush armchair, leaned back and crossed his knees, the forefinger and middle finger of his right hand holding his head up, as he waited for Snape to make their presence known, as he wasn't in the mood for introductions or any conversation with his 'father'.

"We're here." Severus called, far too early for Keiran's liking. Rodolphus turned away from the hearth quickly and his face brightened at the sight of him. Keiran scowled inwardly at the man's bright grin, honestly, he was far too cheerful to be on the dark side, what a disgrace. Cheerfulness, Keiran had decided a long time ago, was only for the fools who believed that there was a meaning to life. Smiles were only for the deranged. Dumbledore, as anyone might have realized, was a solid proof of that.

"Keiran!" the man greeted and moved to envelop Keiran in a hug but Keiran in his irritability, countered it with the broomstick he held like a cane and used it to bash Rodolphus aside, causing the larger man to drop down to his knees with a sharp gasp of pain.

"Rodolphus!" Snape shouted from his spot by the door, he rushed over to his friend's side and helped him up. Rodolphus merely pushed away Snape's hands and looked up at Keiran with hurt eyes.

"You still believe those rumors then?" he asked with dread.

"No." Keiran sneered. He then continued to speak in a childish voice he'd no doubt inherited from his mother "Of course I don't. After all you just attempted to hug me and I slammed my wonderfully firm broomstick against your side. Of course I don't believe those rumors. That's a ridiculous thought, _Father._"

There was a mysterious twitching at the corner of Severus' mouth at his words but Keiran was too pissed off to comment on it. Instead, he, rather like an amateur too, changed the subject, "Rodolphus, you should have seen your son flying on that broom outside like he was born on it. I think he would make a tolerable seeker."

"Just like his mother, he is." Rodolphus said, beaming in pride at the Keiran who only gazed blearily up at him in boredom. "I never really learned how to fly. Put him on the Quidditch team Severus, and expect to be in my good graces."

Snape nodded with a small smile on his face but Keiran interrupted, "No." he said in a rather forceful voice.

"What do you mean my boy?" Rodolphus asked, Keiran decided then and there that genial definitely didn't fit his _father's _image.

"First of all, I do not want to be on the Quidditch team." Keiran only barely managed to keep himself from snarling, he ignored the incredulous looks he was getting and continued talking, "Second point is, I am not. Your. Boy." He ground out.

Rodolphus looked extremely put down, while Snape began to sputter indignantly at Keiran's rejection of the spot in the team. Keiran only sighed.

"It was a pleasure to see you again, Father. But you see, I still have classes to attend to." And with those parting words, Keiran left the room, lightly rubbing his forehead as the beginnings of what promised to be a major head ache began to emerge. He would love life when they wouldn't have to pretend anymore, less of a headache. Never mind, once his mission here was over, Father, the real one, would finally be able to reign the wizarding world. Keiran sighed, if only it could happen faster.

**Living A Lie**

Keiran absentmindedly ran his finger over the head of his black mamba, Sarah, as he stared unseeingly into the dancing flames in the fireplace. Rodolphus had thankfully left hours ago, he hadn't even asked to say goodbye, Keiran smirked, the man knew how to read the signs after all. Heaven knows he had spent years trying to get the message across.

"Is something bothering you, master?" Sarah hissed, as she continued to rub against his finger like a cat.

"No, Sarah. I'm fine." He hissed back quietly, conscious to the presence of the seventh years across the room.

"Keiran." Somebody called him from behind and Keiran just had to cringe, he knew she was going to thank him in a really awkward way, that's why he had avoided her the entire day, but then, he couldn't escape forever.

"Yes, Vi?" he asked as he plastered a smile on his face, and turned to see Violet standing there with her eyes locked on to her woebegone shoes. Her face reddened at the sound of his voice.

"I.." she mumbled, her hand fiddling with a charm bracelet on her wrist Keiran hadn't noticed before, but as it wasn't a matter of consequence, Keiran ignored it. "Thank you, Keiran."

"It was nothing." Keiran replied nonchalantly, "It is what friends do for other friends of course."

Violet flushed even deeper at Keiran's words, she opened her mouth to speak but then Flint approached her and said. "The headmaster wants to see you in his office."

Violet looked quite grateful for the excuse to leave and quickly shuffled off after a hasty wave in Keiran's direction. Keiran raised a questioning eyebrow at Flint, but the teen only shrugged and walked away from him. Keiran sighed and got up from his chair as Sarah slithered up to hide in his sleeve, since the light leader and the Girl-Who-lived were having a meeting, it would be nice for the leader of the dark and his heir to have one too, besides, they hadn't been able to bypass the wards defending the stone yet.

Keiran was making his way towards his fathers office when a cold transparent being blocked him, or rather passed by him, causing him to stiffen. The said being chuckled at the dumped in a bucket filled with ice he knew the boy was experiencing and moved into Keiran's line of sight. The specter was covered in silvery bloodstains and his hands were bound in chains. It was the bloody Baron.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The ghost said in a voice that was both grating and as cold as his body was.

"I would appreciate it if you never do that again." Keiran snapped as he resisted the urge to wrap his arms around himself and instead settled on rubbing the trembling lump around his arm, which was Sarah who had probably suffered a lot through the coldness because of her being a cold-blooded reptile.

"Touchy aren't we Mr. Po-Black." The Baron teased, his mouth twisted into an amused smirk.

"What were you going to call me?" Keiran asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Nothing that you need to know at the moment." The bloody baron replied, already floating away, "But I do bid you to be careful…_Keiran_" Keiran noticed that the baron looked very amused when he said his name. ", not everything is at it seems." And with that, he was gone.

**A/N: Wah! What a short chappie! I'm so sorry guys! But at least I updated right? This seems like a really pointless filler, but don't worry, things will really start moving in the next chapter. Halloween anyone? *grins and whistles as she walks away* **

**Review for a quicker update! **


	8. Troll!

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer: ****This isn't mine, but tomorrow it shall be, and it will have been forever. I'm going to get a time turner and undo it all, muahahha (calms down)….so, do you know where I can buy one?**

**A/N: I could've posted this earlier but then the storm Ondoy (what a stupid name) hit the Philippines and then suddenly there was water everywhere. It was amusing to be stranded on my couch typing on my laptop while my slippers floated away from me. But then I was lucky compared to those who got stranded on their roofs elsewhere, while I was just on my couch, typing this. (Now, that is what you call dedication!) **

**Still unbetaed, because I don't have one. Gwah. I need one. I have this darn problem with showing emotions.**

**Living a Lie**

"Why exactly do we need to let in a troll again?" Keiran asked as he drank hot chocolate while in is fathers office. Voldemort had taken over Quirrels body again and was pacing in front of the fire, causing him to cast a long shadow on the wall. Nothing but darkness was discernable through the window and the castle was quite except for the flickering of the flames and the sound of Voldemort's shoes scuffing against the carpet.

"Letting a troll in would make the headmaster suspicious that something is happening to the stone. He'd suspect it to be a diversion" Voldemort said, not even bothering to look in Keiran's direction. "He wouldn't automatically suspect it to be a mere guiding force so that he would do what we want him to do. Thus, he would check on the stone, or send one of his people do to it. The latter would be better, as whoever that person would be, he'd be easily overpowered."

"And you, being indisposed in the hospital wing, or elsewhere because of your 'faint' in the great hall," Keiran continued his father's line of thought in a bored drawl. "Will be able to follow whoever this person is, who is sent to check on the stone, and be able to go in after him."

Voldemort nodded. "It isn't a full-proof plan." He conceded, "But you know as well as I do how maddening it is to just sit here and wait for more news on wards from your mother. It has a possibility to work, but if it doesn't, we still have the main plan."

"And if you get caught?" Keiran asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"If I'm caught you shall push through with the plan, it is possible even without my help; though it would take a longer period of time."

"I suppose." Keiran said, nodding, though he hoped it wouldn't come to that. An uncomfortable silence came after that; one where they both realized how much they were risking by just sitting in that room to talk to each other. But it was worth it in the end, if, no, when they succeeded. He couldn't doubt now.

"How is your mother's progress with the Order?" Voldemort asked suddenly.

"She's gotten through to Uncle Sirius. The anti-veritaserum pill worked and she's going to be introduced to the rest of Order in there next meeting." Keiran replied, sipping his drink.

"Good. Good." Voldemort smiled, nodding his head, "We must remind Keelan to not bring his snake with him when he goes over to their headquarters."

"It wouldn't matter whether he brings Ramses or not. I have Sarah and she hasn't given me unwanted attention, and she never will as long as she doesn't poise to attack anyone or if I don't talk to her in public. So long as Keelan and Ramses do the same there shouldn't be any trouble." Keiran argued, he knew just how close his brother's familiar was too Keelan, he wouldn't want them separated.

"Eh, I suppose that's true. But enough talk about snakes. Tell me, how are you and Violet?"

Keiran snorted, "She is as easy to manipulate as a five-year old child when you wave candy in front of her. Though I wish she wouldn't cling like she does. It's like I have to drag around a dead weight around everywhere." He complained.

Voldemort only laughed at him, "I guess that means that things are going well."

"You could say that." Keiran acquiesced swirling his mug of hot chocolate so that all the last dregs would mix with the liquid. In his opinion, things were going too well, way too well for his comfort.

**-**

"I heard that the other day, you saved her again, from a bunch of Gryffindor bullies. You seem to have a habit of saving people. That isn't becoming of the Dark Heir." Voldemort half-teased half scolded.

And for some reason that Keiran couldn't fathom, he suddenly felt angry, angry at Voldemort for questioning his actions, angry at himself for saving Violet, and angry at Violet for being such a weak person that had to be saved.

He chose not to answer, even though he could feel something burning wretchedly inside him. He stared down at his cup of cocoa with blank eyes while his mind whirled in a tornado of thoughts and feelings. He didn't know what to say, and that was a first for Keiran. Voldemort had been expecting to get a stronger reaction from him, even just a short reply would do. But this lack of reaction worried him.

"Be careful boy." Voldemort warned, suddenly stern, "Do not get attached, she is the enemy."

"Don't worry." Keiran said, lifting his eyes up from the cup and meeting his father's red ones. "I won't" and as he saw the redheaded girl smiling at him with her emerald eyes sparkling in his minds eye, he certainly hoped that he wouldn't.

**Living a Lie**

Violet did all that she could to prevent her tears from falling. She bit her lip and stared down at her shoes, she didn't want to see his disappointed gaze as he removed the sorting hat from her head and looked down at her in anger. She tried her best to dissuade the hat from putting her back in Slytherin, she wanted to please him after all, but it wasn't enough. Turns out that wanting to prove your worth was a Slytherin trait. But he was never going to understand that.

"I'm sorry for this waste of time headmaster." James said stiffly, and Violet could feel his brown orbs at the back of her neck as she began twisting the charm on her bracelet again. "I guess I was wrong."

"No matter," the headmaster said with a deadened voice which caused Violet to wince. "It didn't hurt to check."

She could feel both of them looking down at her now, and all she wanted to do was to run away and cry. But then, what would crying do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Well then, Albus, I have to get back home. Lily will be asking for me." and then he left through the floo, without even sparing her a single glance.

Tears began to blur Violet's vision but she held them back. She refused to cry in front of the headmaster, it would be degrading, as if she wasn't degraded enough. She heard the rustle of clothing and she knew that Dumbledore had returned to his chair opposite from her, back at his desk. She wished that he would just go away, she didn't need him, she didn't need anybody. Not now.

"You do understand, Violet, don't you?" Dumbledore spoke in his would-be caring voice, but Violet heard what he tried to hide behind it, he was disappointed too. "You're father worries of what would happen to you in Slytherin. He worries that the hat was only tricked so you could be sorted to the house of the snakes. It was for your greater good."

"For my greater good." Violet repeated under her breath, it was an absurd idea. They told her that something must have gone wrong in the sorting. She couldn't be in Slytherin. The only ones who went in Slytherin were evil. How could that be for the greater good if all it did was tell her exactly what they thought of her? Unclean. Dark. Evil. What Harry would never have been. Violet shut her eyes against the pain.

"You can return to your dorms now Miss Potter. Please take care." Dumbledore said, and Violet couldn't have been happier. She was out the door in seconds, and before she knew it, she was running through the halls with no sense of where she was going, all that mattered to her was that she had to get away. She had to escape. It was too much. Far too much. So she ran.

**Living a Lie**

Keiran was strolling back down to the dungeons when he heard it. The faint shaky sobs came from a window around the corner, and the sound echoed down the empty hall. Keiran walked toward the sound, curious to who could possibly be crying at this time of the night. He cast a silencio charm on his feet so his footsteps would not be heard. But that charm did not prevent his gasp when he saw who stood there.

It was Violet. She stood facing the window, her hands on either side of the frame. The window was open, and the cold night air blew into it, and through Violet's red hair which shone in the moonlight. She was looking at the moon, and it reflected in her green eyed. She'd been crying, the tear tracks running down her cheeks were proof of that. Her nose was slightly reddish and her eyes were bloodshot. But she was still beautiful.

"Vi." Keiran breathed.

She spun around quickly in alarm, and that alarm only faded slightly when she saw who it was. She backed up against the window and for a split second, Keiran was worried that she was going to fall, but she regained her balance quickly and avoided his gaze. Her hands forming into fists her eyes were wide, and filled with tears, showcasing her hurt, confusion and anger for all the world to see.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped in a shaky voice, her tone of voice took him aback. He had never heard her with a confrontational tone before. She was usually just plain vulnerable Violet. What had changed?

"I was going back to the Slytherin common rooms. Would you like to join me?" Keiran asked, hoping that it was a right choice to not mention that it was obvious that she had been crying bucketfuls lately. It would only lead to awkward discussions and he would be forced no act like he cared, and to pretend that he was still actually acting.

She looked up at him and bit her lip, and Keiran gave her a reassuring smile.

"Okay."

The walk back down to the dungeons was quiet. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it wasn't eerie either. At first it was awkward, but as they got closer, and Violet suddenly slipped her hand through his, Keiran learned to relax and cherish the moment. But then, he couldn't help himself from stealing glances at the girl who walked beside him, the one with the flowing red hair and the emerald green eyes. Because he couldn't just forget that if he hadn't arrived in time, if he'd just stayed a minute longer in his father's office, the savior of the wizarding world would have thrown herself outside the castle window.

**Living a Lie**

Keiran sat by the edge of his seat, his muscles tense and his fingers tapping against his desk in impatience. He was in charms class, and today the professor who he suspected was part goblin, was teaching them levitation charms. It was a useless lesson, as far as Keiran was concerned, and his mind kept wondering off to what would happen later, when their plan was enacted.

Quirrel had finally found a troll in the mountains, a task that shouldn't have taken as long as it did but as it wasn't topping their priority list the time it took to do it didn't matter. Later, the troll would be released, and hopefully, their stay here would end with his father back in his true form. But it was aggravating to wait, especially when you were just spending the time by sitting in a class you took when you were the age of five. Ridiculous. Keiran shook his head.

"It's win-Gar-dium levi-O-sa, not wingardium leviosa! Make the gar nice and long." He heard a bossy voice say from the Gryffindor side of the room. Granger, as he learned the bushy-haired girl was called, was prone to making know-it-all statements like that often. The girl must have been blind not to notice that she was getting on everybody's nerves. She was too pushy and overbearing it made one wonder if anybody had ever taught her any manners. Honestly, muggleborns, Keiran shook his head once again, so uncouth.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Violet continued to chant beside him. Keiran smirked. She hadn't been able to even make her feather twitch yet, so much for being the savior of the light side. He'd been able to do it on his first try, but she looked like she'd been attempting the patronus charm with a dementor in front of her rather than the simple levitation charm. Humph, when Voldemort returns to his body, taking over would be a piece of cake.

"Mr. Black, if you have time to daydream then you must have mastered this spell already. Show me your progress." A suddenly very stern Flitwick said, for he had caught him while he was gazing at Violet.

"Yes sir." Keiran replied nonchalantly, he brought out his wand and pointed it at the feather, and to be sure that the spell wouldn't hit the desk like it did before, he made his wand touch the feather as he chanted, "Wingardium Leviosa."

The feather rose up in the air, as he expected it to, and Flitwick clapped in delight and gave Keiran points for being the first one to accomplish the spell. The little man had totally forgotten that he had been angry at Keiran just a few minutes before. Flitwick didn't notice that behind him, Granger had also accomplished the spell. Granger glowered at Keiran for outdoing her again. And Keiran just had to smirk back at her, it's not like he tried to overshadow her, on the contrary, he tried his best to do badly at class. But it just wasn't working.

"How do you do that?" Violet huffed angrily beside him, having warmed up enough to be able to complain without worrying that she sounded like a whiner, "you just try it once, and you just get it results!"

"I don't know really." Keiran replied with a hint of amusement, "It just happens."

"Well, that was helpful," was Violet's snarky reply. She returned to her work and didn't spare Keiran any of her time anymore.

Keiran eyed her curiously. She had changed drastically since the 'window' incident, as he liked to call it. She had become sarcastic and almost as bad tempered as Kiara was. Kieran couldn't say why, but he definitely liked the change, though.

Later on, to his mixed relief and glee, the bell rang, signaling the end of the last period. Everybody shuffled out the door and Keiran made to follow but he was held back by Flitwick, who was holding on to the cuff of his sleeve (it was probably the highest part of Keiran the mini professor could reach).

"A word, Mr. Black." The little man said, he was bouncing on his heels in joy over something.

"Uh, sure." Keiran said uncertainly. He motioned for Draco and Violet to leave without him and turned to look at Flitwick with weary eyes.

"Mr. Black, have you ever considered getting an apprenticeship?" Flitwick asked squeakily, his eyes shining in excitement. "You're skills in most subjects are far beyond the level of even our most advanced third years, or maybe even the newt students if you cared to let us test your skills."

"N-no." Keiran said, shaking his head, the idea of an apprenticeship looked attractive, but it would gain the same attention as becoming the youngest seeker in a century, it was regretful, but it had to be done. He doubted that he needed it anyway. "I'm sorry professor, but I don't think I'm ready for that sort of stuff yet."

"Are you sure, Mr. Black? You won't have a hard time getting a job if you have a mastery; especially at a young age such as yours!" Flitwick's eyes were still shining in a way that reminded Keiran of a little puppy begging for something. He had his hands clasped under his chin and was looking up at Keiran imploringly.

"I'll think about it, Professor." Keiran said, just wishing to shake off the Professor so that he can witness the success (hopefully) of his Father's plan. "But I honestly don't think I'll be able to do that this year."

"Oh well," Flitwick sighed, shaking his diminutive head. "This may be the best that I can do. Go on then, enjoy the Halloween feast!" He said, turning around and waving Keiran off with his hand.

"Yes, sir." Keiran murmured, before running out the door. No on was standing in the hallways anymore so he assumed that everyone was in the Great Hall already. When he saw that the Great Hall doors were still open, he let out a sigh of relief. Looks like the show hasn't started yet.

"What did Flitwick talk to you about?" Draco asked curiously once he'd dumped himself unceremoniously on the empty space beside him.

"Something about getting an apprenticeship. Seriously, why can't people here just leave me alone?" Keiran grumbled as Violet dropped a chicken leg on his plate.

"Thanks." He murmured, his eyes flickered over to the teachers table and he noted with satisfaction that Quirrel wasn't there anymore.

"You really hate attention don't you?" Violet chuckled, as she watched him rip of chicken meat from the bone moodily as Flitwick entered the Great Hall.

"It's bloody irritating." Keiran growled moodily, though inside he was bubbling in anticipation at what was about to happen. As though the world sensed his impatience, the Great Hall doors burst open and Quirrel came rushing down the aisle towards Dumbledore. All heads turned to look at their flushed Professor while Keiran fought hard to keep his smirk off his face.

"Troll! Troll in the dungeons!" he shrieked, a look of alarm crossed Dumbledore's face, but it was wiped off quickly as Quirrel's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the ground in a dead faint. Pandemonium came in an instant.

Keiran watched in concealed amusement as several in the Hufflepuff table fainted in their chairs while all the others practically jumped of their chairs and ran screaming towards the doors. Thankfully, none of the Slytherin's acted that way. But that didn't mean that none of them were afraid. Draco was paler than he usually was and his eyes were frantically searching for an exit, Keiran could tell that if he wasn't there to witness the event, Draco would long have rushed to the door while pushing everyone out of the way. He hadn't bothered to tell Draco about the plan, and it looked like he was going to have a really embarrassing chat with him later.

BANG!!!

Everyone fell silent as Dumbledore lowered the wand he used when he conjured the firecrackers. His eyes were blazing when he told everyone to return to their common rooms. The prefects quickly began ordering the students to fall in proper lines and proceed to their houses calmly. Yet Keiran stayed rooted to his spot, his ears ringing and his eyes widened in disbelief. Just how dumb was this man? The troll was in the bloody dungeons, Slytherin house was in the dungeons, and he wanted them to go there? Christ, he was stupid!

"C'mon." Violet whispered urgently to him, pulling him in the direction of the doors when she noticed that he hadn't moved. Keiran allowed himself to be lead out of the Great Hall and running off with the rest of the Slytherin's as they headed off to their house. He was troubled. What was he to do if they came across the troll? He couldn't dispatch it. That would go against their plan. And even if he was allowed to kill it, he would find it hard to do that without showing his unnaturally good skill with the wand. He could only hope that they wouldn't meet the troll. Damn Dumbledore.

They were rushing around a corner when a hand suddenly came out of nowhere and pulled him away from his peers. A flash of red hair and a panicked voice revealed that the person who had pulled him was Violet. She wrung her hands and paced back and forth in the small enclosure she had dragged him off too in obvious distress.

"What was that for, Vi?" Keiran groaned, rubbing his sore shoulder slightly as she had stretched it when she had suddenly grabbed his arm. Violet shot him an apologetic look but then she plunged right on about what she was worried about.

"Granger's in the loo, crying her eyes out. She doesn't know about the troll!" Violet griped, biting her lip.

"Granger? You mean the bushy-haired, know-it-all who shoots me murderous glares during class?" he asked incredulously, causing Violet to glare at him and Keiran raised his open palms in surrender.

"The very same." Violet agreed unhappily. And then without warning she began pulling Keiran out of the enclosure and back into the now deserted hallway. Keiran half-heartedly hoped that she would drag them off to the Slytherin common room now, but it was in vain. Violet began walking towards the direction opposite to their common room, tugging Keiran along with her.

"Hey! You're not dragging me to Hermione are you?" Keiran protested, wanting to pull away from Violet but daring not to. Violet rolled her eyes at his questions and Keiran could only feel irritated and slightly amused by his question. "I mean, she's in the loo! The girls' loo!" he hissed at her, putting emphasis on the 'girls' part.

"It's just a room, Kei." Violet said, rolling her eyes again.

She continued to pull him while Keiran tried to pull away from her without causing her harm. He tried prying her fingers off his arm but her grasp was too tight. He could just do a back flip and have her tumble away from his but he couldn't do that to a 'friend' now could he. He struggled for a few more seconds and he'd just been trying o wriggle his arm from her grip when her fingers suddenly slackened and he fell backward because of the force he was exerting.

"You could have given me a warning, Vi! That smarts!" he groaned and hopped to his feet, preparing to run away from his forceful companion. It was then that he realized that Violet hadn't moved since she had released him. She stood rooted to her spot staring in fright at something in front of her. Keiran knew then and there what it was that had caused her to stiffen in fear. He should have known that after several uneventful weeks his luck would run out again. But then he had to check to be sure.

He slowly lifted his eyes from the enormous shadow on the marble floor to the dirty feet of the creature. Keiran's heart jumped to his throat as he looked at the enormous troll standing in front of him. It was huge, and smelly and utterly ugly. And that moment, it was snarling down at both of them with his teeth barred. The troll raised both of his hands above his head and that was when Keiran realized what the troll was holding. In one hand it held a club taller than Keiran himself. While the other hand held a bruised and unconscious bushy-haired girl.

"Granger!" He and Violet breathed simultaneously.

The troll growled in response.

**Living a Lie**

**A/N: I am soooo sorry, but it had to end there. It just seemed like the right place to end! It just wrote itself!**

**So what do you think?**

**And now a few question!:**

**You guys already know who Keiran and Kiara really are, right? Who do you think should be their godfathers? Do you think Hermione should be their friend? Or should she die in the hands of the evil troll (literally). It wouldn't affect the overall plot but then, I want to know what you guys think. I just might change my mind and make her a key character. **

**Is Dumbledore going to be evil, manipulative or just plain clueless?**

**Till next time! **


	9. The troll attacks

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer: ****I am not making money out of this, and this isn't mine, except for the plot and the OC's of course.**

**A/N: Vote for who you want Keiran to end up with! The poll is on my profile! If there's somebody missing in the list that I put up then please inform me and I'll add the name! **

**Current standings:**

**Violet:20**

**Daphne:11**

**Blaise:4**

**Tracey:4**

**Hermione:3**

**Draco:4**

**Susan:3**

**Kiara/Ginny:3**

**Padma:2**

**Luna:1**

**Pansy:1**

**Hannah:1**

**O/C:1**

**So, is your best bet winning? Vi might just win by a landslide. But if you don't want that to happen then vote! But if you do, the plot is already in the works!**

**I'm not very good with action scenes so I just hope you forgive me if some parts of it feel a bit choppy. As usual, this isn't edited. First draft. **

**Living a Lie**

At that moment, Keiran's survival instinct began screaming at him to run, to save himself and ignore all those around him. And that moment, there was nothing more that Keiran wanted to do but that. But he couldn't leave Vi or that Granger girl at the mercy of the troll he had indirectly set on them. Dark Lord's heir or not, he still had a heart. So he didn't.

He felt true fear then, not for himself, no, he knew perfectly well that he could defeat a troll, but he felt fear enfolding his heart in its cold grasp for the redhead that stood rigid beside him; For she still was so innocent, so defenseless and above all, she was Violet. He didn't know why she was suddenly so important to him. He didn't know the reason why he found it his obligation to keep her safe. But pondering his feelings wasn't the best thing to do while a troll just about ready to squash him under his feet stood in front of them.

Keiran would have told Violet to run for it, but then his command came a moment to late. Violet was suddenly possessed by Gryffindor courage Keiran had never seen in her before and ran towards the troll with a battle cry, not even drawing her wand in the process.

Keiran, cursing fluently under his breath, drew his wand and pointed it at the troll, he prepared himself to cast a stunner at the troll, but then he was unsettled when the troll made a nasty swipe at the Violet before she even got to it, she wasn't hit by the club, but she did manage to get caught on the troll's greenish and rather bulky arm and get pushed into the standing form of Keiran, sending them both sprawling on the ground and Keiran's wand clattering out of his hand and out of sight.

Keiran got the wind knocked out of him, but before he could even catch his breath, his eyes widened as the troll raised its club above his head and made to pound it at the ground where they were. Aided by adrenaline and maybe just a touch of accidental magic, Keiran managed to push Violet off him and roll away from the club's hit just in time. Keiran heard a resounding crack and then his fear increased two-fold. The troll was swinging around a club with enough strength to cause marble to be crushed to pieces. He could only imagine what that club could do to a body of flesh and blood.

Keiran quickly rolled to his feet and took a quick survey of his surroundings. Violet had finally had the sense to draw her wand and she was crouched down in a corner, probably hoping to hide herself from the troll. She needn't bother. The troll had switched his full attention to Keiran and had begun swiping at him with his club, grunting and hollering in its hellish voice as it did so.

"Vi! Get up and run! Get some help!" Keiran hollered as he just managed to push himself out of the coverage of one of the more dangerous swings the troll made. It had become like a game of cat and mouse, Keiran had unwittingly become the mouse, and he wasn't enjoying it. He tumbled, ran and successfully avoided all the attempts the troll made to snuff out his life, but then, he could feel his stamina running out. If he got any slower it could lead to him getting turned into a mash of bloody flesh on the ground. The thing that infuriated him the most was that he knew that he could beat the troll. He could kill the troll then and there with a wave of his hand. But he couldn't do that in the presence of Violet. If there was anything that he learned from his father, it was dedication. Keiran was dedicated to the mission Voldemort had given him and was trying his best not to be found out by Violet. He could only hope that it wouldn't cost him his life.

If Violet had followed his orders and gone for some help, Keiran could have avoided further injuries on both parties. But there was Gryffindor blood running through the girls' blood and she did what a normal noble Gryffindor would do. She grabbed a chunk of marble that had broken up from the floor and she heaved it with all her might at the troll's head while yelling at the top of her lungs: "Over here!"

The stone found its mark, and it did manage to get the trolls attention and cause it to turn towards the sound of her voice. Unfortunately, it also managed to make the troll even angrier. It was in a full fit of rage now. It was swinging the club in all directions, hitting the walls the floor and even the ceiling. Causing bits of marble to be shunted in all directions and dust to obscure Keiran's view of what was happening. One sharp stone shot towards Keiran out of the mist the dust had created and sliced through the soft flesh of his cheek before he could dodge, only barely missing his eye. Keiran hissed in pain but it wasn't time to cry over such a minor injury. The troll was advancing towards Violet with a trail of saliva dripping down its pointy teeth as it roared and a hint of madness in its bloodshot eyes.

Violet's eyes widened in fear as the troll approached her, the fist holding Hermione held to the ceiling as her head lolled side to side at all the movement the troll had been doing. She took an involuntary step backwards and promptly fell on her arse as she had stepped on a long wooden shaft, Keiran's wand. Keiran heard the clatter of wood and knew that his wand was there, but there was nothing her could do to get to it. He steeled himself for a moment, but then he decided to just make a gamble. Violet was too preoccupied by the troll, she wouldn't notice him working a bit of wandless magic, as long as he managed to make it look like an accident.

The club, Keiran decided, was what was the real threat now. Keiran waited for the right moment, and he didn't have to wait long. The troll delivered a mighty swing at Violet which she barely managed to evade and the club hit the floor where she was standing a few seconds ago. Keiran took his chance and caused the club to crumble to dust then and there and hoped that Violet would just assume that the club took too much of a beating and just dissolved.

The troll blinked stupidly in surprise and grunted. It raised its hand close to his eyes and opened and closed it into fist as if it couldn't believe that the object he had been holding had just crumbled. Keiran took advantage at the troll's confusion to run over to Violet's side and he tried to pull her back out the passageway to save herself. But she was stubborn, an emerald fire flared in her eyes though he could sense fear in the depths too and she pulled her arm from his grasp and she aimed her wand at the troll again.

But then there was nothing that she could do, they hadn't learned any useful charms in defense yet as Quirrel, under Keiran's orders, had just babbled on about nonexistent adventures during his class. There wasn't a moment that Keiran regretted his decisions more.

Keiran was all but prepared to drag Violet out of the room before the troll regained its senses but then he was stopped when he heard the echo of several people running through the halls. Thank goodness! Help was coming! He all but smiled at Violet. He should have known that it wasn't time to celebrate yet, the troll was still upright, and at that moment, it had regained its senses and directed its rage at the loss of its only belonging at the two little beings standing a few feet away from him. The troll threw the only thing it had on its arsenal. That thing happened to be Hermione. And the unconscious girl shot right at Violet.

Keiran had only a few seconds to think. Hermione was rushing towards them in neck-breaking speeds (literally) and if she hit Violet, if she hit Violet, Keiran didn't want to think of the consequences. He rapidly placed himself in front of Violet. He ignored the gasps that came from the passageway entrance as the teachers finally reached them. He ignored the troll as it roared in anger and proceeded to grab a suit of armor and prepare to throw it as well. He ignored the sudden strong sear of heat as the horcrux on his chest began to beat. All that he could see was Violet's fright feared emerald eyes as she realised just what he was doing and began to shove him out of the way. But then there was a crack and then unbelievable pain as Keiran dropped down to the ground.

Voices. Shouting. Pain. And then there was darkness.

**Living a Lie**

**A/N: ****I'm evil. Haha, I'm sorry that it's short but classes start again tomorrow and I just HAD to post something. I hope I'll be able to update next week at the earliest!**

**Review, they make me happy and encourage me to update earlier!**

**Special thanks to these reviewers! You guys made my day!**

**BioHazard82, Nxkris, Harunda, chrisguy9017, KirijamaScion, Melora, LaughingAngelsGibberish, Godwolf Fenrir, steph, David Fishwick, irradiation, Robert1000, adenoide, Rin'negan Naruto, R.D., Saphira113, mcgurrin and panther73110!**

**Add me on twitter! http : / / twitter . com / VioletsKeeper**

**Just remove the spaces! **


	10. Meeting Old Friends

Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.

**Disclaimer: ****I am not making money out of this, and this isn't mine, except for the plot and the OC's of course. (Which basically means Violet, Keelan, Cassiopoeia, Scipio and Irina, the last three I haven't introduced yet and probably won't for a while, but they will be in this story.)**

**A/N: Vote for who you want Keiran to end up with! The poll is on my profile! If there's somebody missing in the list that I put up then please inform me and I'll add the name! And as a follow up: since my friend, irradiation, recommended my story on his story, I'm recommending his too, for all the people who like Star Trek, go look up his 'Of Steaks, Salads and Medical Checkups', the story's complete and the sequel 'dirty plates' is up. **

**AND NO I DO NOT KNOW WHY CHAPTER 4 AND 5 ARE THE SAME. D8**

**IDEK WHERE TEH MISSING CHAPTER IS DDD8**

**WARNING!: this is going to have an angst overload. Gonna be a lot more of those in the future so brace yourselves. But not to worry, though there is a lot of angsty stuff, action is in the future. (around the time that they get, or try to get, the stone )**

**Living a Lie**

The news that two Slytherins had risked their lives in an attempt to rescue Gryffindor's resident know-it-all from a mountain troll travelled around Hogwarts like wildfire. It was unheard of for Slytherins to put their necks on the line just to save a Gryffindor, or any other person for that matter. Slytherins, on principle, stuck mostly to themselves, talking to other houses was rare; saving somebody from another house was a huge shocker. The fact that one of the Slytherins was the famed Girl-Who-Lived gave more publicity to the stunt than it should have had if any normal Slytherin had been the one to do it.

Whispers followed Violet wherever she went. Apologetic smiles and approving nods was what she got from those who just weeks ago, would sneer at her and ridicule her for being sorted in the house of the slimy snakes. The Slytherins on the other hand, who had once favored her with comfortable silences and tolerant smiles, glared at her incessantly and the comfortable silences she spent with them now became tense and strained.

It turns out that it was only Keiran's presence that was keeping them from antagonizing her, and now that Keiran was so conveniently disposed in the Hospital wing, and all evidence pointed that it was her fault, they went all out with their snarls and veiled insults. The worst part was that Violet couldn't exactly say that she didn't deserve that treatment. She felt very guilty over it all. Especially now, as she sat by Keiran's bed and noticed just how extremely pale and fragile he looked against those powdery white sheets. He had braces on his torso to keep him from making any unnecessary movement as the bones of his ribs and spine healed, and he looked nothing more than a puppet only held together by those strange contraptions.

He hadn't opened his eyes once throughout the seven days that he had been there. He was practically covered all over in bandages and swimming in the sheer number of potions, that Madam Pomfrey forced down his throat. She'd placed him in a healing sleep, all the while murmuring that if they'd brought him just minutes late, the damage to the boys' spinal column would have been irreversible. Hermione's hit on Keiran's back was extremely lucky, any higher and he could have died, any lower and he could have been paralyzed. He'd come so close to never opening his eyes again, and it had all been Violet's fault.

If she'd just listened to him and hadn't dragged him along in her willy-nilly adventures, then maybe he wouldn't be hurt. Maybe, but this was no time for maybe's. He'd been the only one to fully accept her, aside from Theo of course, but Keiran was the first one who did. He'd become the very first friend that she had and now look where that brought him. Right now, she was sitting by what could have been his deathbed and wished that he would open his eyes and tell her that he was alright. But she was dreading it too, dreading that the moment he opened his eyes she wouldn't see the warm blue pools they always were but the icy ones that head pierced her on their first night here.

Violet teared up at the thought that Keiran might choose to not be her friend anymore after this, she couldn't blame him though. Merlin, he'd nearly died. She kept repeating that mantra in her head as she gazed forlornly at the first ever friend that she ever had, but it didn't make it any more real. She'd almost lost him, and she just couldn't wrap her head around this. She was only eleven and she shouldn't be dealing with near-death experiences at such a young age.

But then, she thought bitterly, she'd already seen death at the age of one. She abruptly shook her head to clear it from depressing thoughts, and reached out to touch Keiran's hand. Just to assure herself that he was still alive, the warmth that she found there was comforting. The one sign of life in Keiran's way too pallid form, the rise and fall of his chest was to subtle to see, and you'd only notice that he was breathing of you looked hard enough. But this, this was her proof that he was still there, beaten, but alive, and while he slept, she wouldn't release the warm hand in hers.

**Living a Lie**

Pain was the first thing that Keiran was aware of when he came into consciousness; Waves of cascading pain, worse than any of that that he had ever felt before. It was so painful that he couldn't bring himself to make any coherent thoughts. With every breath that he made a sharp stab would hit him and he hissed in pain. He wished that he could curl up, fetus style to pretend that there wasn't any pain, but he was held down by something which felt like a cage made by cold metal.

Had he been captured by his enemies? He couldn't remember any sort of interaction would them that could have caused such a predicament. Last he remembered, he was at the feast, and he was enjoying a hearty dinner. But then…no, there was a troll, and Violet was there. Keiran snapped his eyes open at his and immediately groaned as the light immediately attacked his tender eyes.

"Keiran! Wait, hold on Keiran!" a panicked voice said above him. Then there was the sound of running feet and a voice frantically calling for somebody called Madam Pomfrey. Seconds later, the matron was standing over him and waving her wand above him in complicated patterns while muttering indiscernible words under her breath. Keiran's eyes quickly adjusted to the light after he had blinked several times and he now watched as Madam Pomfrey nodded and bustled off again, muttering about pain potions.

His mind couldn't register what the nurse had done, but it did give him a jolt when a familiar bushy brown head leaned over him. Granger looked paler than she ever had before, and her hair was frizzier than usual, but aside from a few scratches on her cheeks and bruises on her arms, she looked fine.

"Are you alright, Keiran?" she asked in concern, but before he could answer her, she began speaking again, "Of course you're not alright! Why am I even asking? Oh Keiran, don't move!" she shrieked when he tried to raise his head. "You might strain your muscles! Madam Pomfrey said that your spinal cord was hit and I searched it in the library and you really shouldn't be…"

Her shrill voice was starting to make Keiran's head hurt, she wasn't helping to ease the soreness he was feeling or the dull ache at his back. He was saved from having to reprimand her when Madam Pomfrey returned with a tray filled with potions and a disapproving expression.

"That's enough Ms. Granger, you're parents are waiting outside." The matron snapped and Granger's face reddened when she realized that she had been babbling.

"I'm sorry about that." She murmured, bowing her head so her bushy hair covered her eyes, and then she slipped out of the ward. Keiran turned his attention to the mediwitch fussing over him. She took a foreboding-looking potion from the tray and Keiran eyed it warily.

"It's for the pain." She told him snootily when she saw his expression. Keiran hesitated for a moment, but then, another shoot of pain travelled up his spine, so he grabbed the vial immediately. He gulped it down and grimaced at the horrible taste it left in his mouth, but he didn't complain, he'd do anything to get rid of the pain. Thankfully, the pain did begin to dull till there was only a faint tingling left in its wake.

Madam Pomfrey made him drink several other potions before she nodded her head in approval, told him to go to sleep and bustled out. Keiran sighed and settled back down under the covers. Happy that the pain had numbed somewhat but still rather confused. Why were Grangers parents here? Weren't they muggles? What happened to Violet? He remembered protecting her, but he couldn't remember what happened after that.

But the most important question that was nagging his mind was whether or not his father had succeeded in his task. Was Father back in his body yet? Was he safe back in the manor? Or had he been caught and thrown in Azkaban? Keiran didn't know. Granger had told him that he'd been out for several days. Just what did he miss?

He contemplated turning into a phoenix and going out in search for his father. But then, the metal contraption holding him down wouldn't budge. In the end, he was too tired from his attempts to escape and by thinking too much that he fell in a restless sleep.

**Living a Lie**

The next time that Keiran woke up, it was dark. The silence around him was absolute, and no sound reached his ears, except for the soft breathing of the person watching over him.

"Father?"

Said man leaned out of the shadows and regarded Keiran with his scarlet eyes, but he did not speak. From the blank expression on his face, Keiran couldn't decipher what he was feeling. Was he angry of what he'd done? The faint twanging of his scar told him that his Father was feeling something very intense at the moment, but what that was, Keiran couldn't know without fully bringing down his occlumency shields and adding a little bit more pain to the discomfort he was feeling now.

"Are you wearing the locket?" Voldemort said sharply, startling Keiran from his worried trance.

Keiran nodded, but stopped quickly when his head began to throb because of it. He felt incredibly hurt that Voldemort was asking for him to return the locket, but he closed off his hurt behind his occlumency shields. He reached gingerly under the folds of the pajamas that the matron had fitted into him. He pulled the chain over his head and handed the locket over to his Father, all the while wondering if Voldemort had decided that he wasn't fit enough to carry a horcrux of his.

"Have you learned how to open it?" Voldemort asked, rubbing the "S" pattern on the locket with his thumb while eyeing Keiran critically.

"No, Father. I didn't think it would be proper." Keiran mumbled, hoping his inaction hadn't been a mistake on his part.

_"Open." _Voldemort hissed. The locket swung open with a soft hiss. Keiran peered in the locket and barely stifled a gasp when he saw a handsome young teenage boy, only a few years older than himself, looking up at him from the locket. He immediately knew who it was, he'd had enough experience of his Mother cooing over how much he looked like his father when he was young, and this man looked just like him, only, the face was thinner, the eyes were colder and the hair was much more tamed than his.

Locket Voldemort seemed to stutter at the verge of speech when he saw who was holding him, but then he regained his composure immediately, a cold calculating look taking over his face.

"Are you…me?" were the first words that the locket said. Keiran could understand the locket Voldemort's hesitation in making that statement. It just sounded silly.

"Yes." Voldemort acquiesced, tilting his head to the side while his eyes narrowed, as if he was challenging his younger self to comment on his physical appearance. Locket Voldemort didn't take the bait.

"Why have you opened the locket? There is no need to resurrect us, is there?" Locket Voldemort's tone was one Keiran had never heard from his father in a long time. It was curt, straightforward and unemotional, much like the Voldemort he had had when he was a child.

"I wanted to introduce someone very important." Voldemort said. Keiran sneaked a glance at his Father's smile before he glanced quickly away, cursing himself as he felt a blush coming to his cheeks. But he couldn't hide his blush for long as Voldemort had handed the locket back to him. Locket Voldemort eyed the blush on Keiran's face disapprovingly, but otherwise, didn't waver from his stony expression. Keiran had to admire his younger father's acting skills. A person would be blind not to notice the similarities between them. Only a slight compulsion charm on him prevented the people from making the connection between Keiran and Tom Riddle.

"Who are you?" Locket Voldemort demanded with an authoritative tone of voice, and Keiran couldn't help but smirk, he could see where Keelan got his bossiness from.

"I am Keiran, Keiran Erebus…" Keiran hesitated for a moment and glanced at his Father for confirmation. At Voldemort's nod, Keiran turned back to the locket, "Riddle. Your son and heir."

Locket Voldemorts jaw dropped open in shock. Whatever the man had been expecting, may that be cousin, apprentice or what not, it definitely had not been something as severe as SON. Keiran had never seen his father lose his composure before, and this chance was such a rare treat he just had to savor the dumbfounded expression on Locket Voldemorts face. Unable to keep his face straight anymore, Keiran grinned, even as another wave of pain sot up his body, he was getting used to the pain already.

"What? How? WHO?" Locket Voldemort managed to warble out after staring intensely at Keiran. The shock must have been so severe to make his normally articulate father begin asking one-word questions. Real time Voldemort found this so amusing and chuckled at his younger counterparts expense, this brought Locket Voldemort out of his stupefied bewilderment and his cold calculating mask returned, not before sending his older counterpart a venom filled glare though.

"What is the meaning of this?" Locket Voldemort demanded in (subdued?) alarm. He threw all his attention to the real Voldemort as if he thought that if he ignored Keiran long enough he'd turn out to just be an illusion. Rather than being hurt by being ignored, Keiran actually found it rather amusing, and used his amusement to keep his mind away from the pain which grew the longer he stayed awake.

"Bellatrix is his mother. We have two other children, Kiara and Keelan, but as Keiran is the oldest, he is our heir." Voldemort allowed this to sink into his younger self before he continued with his explanation. "As such, I've entrusted you to him." Locket Voldemort opened his mouth as if to complain but he was silenced by an intense glare from his red-eyed counterpart, "He will protect you, I have faith in his skills. Originally, it was just going to be a one-sided relationship between you two, but because of recent developments, as you can see." Voldemort said, motioning towards Keiran's injured form. "Our son has been injured and I am forced to give you a job."

"Quit rambling and tell me want you want already!" Locket Voldemort hissed, having reached the end oh his patience already.

"Fine." Voldemort sighed, rubbing his temples. "I forgot that I was this temperamental before." This comment earned an enraged snarl from the portrait, but Locket Tom did get the message and toned down his lethal glare and did his best to return to his former icy expression but couldn't quite manage it, not after an emotional upheaval like that.

"Your job is simple. You are to guide him, act on my behalf when he can't reach me, and alert me if he is in danger. That is all."

"What are we getting from this?" Locket Voldemort demanded, displeased.

"He is our son." Voldemort stated, before he stood up and handed the locket back to Keiran.

"I have to go. Madame Pomfrey is going to do one of her rounds soon." He said, closing the locket in Keirans fist and squeezing it.

"Never take this off."

And just like that he was gone, and though Keirans back was hurting him like hell Keiran couldn't help but feel incredibly happy. It was rare when his father showed him emotions, and this time he showed that he cared.

He opened the locket again and smiled down at the miniature Voldemort.

"I don't like you." Locket Voldemort said.

Keiran closed the locket in response.

**Living a Lie**

A/N: i haven't updated in forever. i should just go die. Or write a lengthier much more interesting chapter. IDK what to do anymore.


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